Aurelia Potter-Black and the Goblet of Fire
by StrikeMoonstone9387
Summary: After a chaotic three years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Aurelia Potter- Black is looking forward to a quiet year as a spectator during the TriWizard Tournament, even if there are four schools competing instead of the usual three. But, like always, luck isn't on her side and her name is drawn as the fifth Champion. Female!Harry Potter (Extended Summary Inside)
1. The Fourth School

**Extended Summary**

Aurelia Potter- Black hasn't had the easiest life. However she has always manged to pull through the challenges with the help of her family and friends. After a chaotic three years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she is looking forward to a quiet year as a spectator during the TriWizard Tournament, even if there are four schools competing instead of the usual three. However, when her name is pulled as the fifth competing Champion, will she be able to pull through for the fourth time? And what happens when they find out that their actions isn't just something that would decide the fate of the school, but rather the fate of the entire Magical World?

**Chapter 1 – The Fourth School**

Aurelia Jasmine Potter-Black sat at the Gryffindor table, with the rest of her house mates, surrounded by their chatter. On her right sat her best friend, Hermione Granger, while on her left sat Fred Weasley, one of her other best friends' older brother. She had her head resting on Fred's shoulder as she listened to everyone's speculations of how their guests would make their entry. She took a sip from the goblet in front of her, filled with a combined Revitalizing and Strengthening potion, that Professor Snape – Uncle Severus - had sent her after she sat down.

"You okay Aurelia?" George, Fred's twin brother, asked her in a worried tone.

She looked in his direction, focusing on his shadowed form, and answered softly, voice filled with exhaustion, "Yea, just extremely tired. I'll feel better once I get something to eat. The potion needs solid food in order to be fully efficient."

"The guests will be entering shortly, then Dumbledore will open the feast. I don't think he'll make a long speech, especially since he knows you haven't eaten anything since lunch." Ron Weasley, one of her best friends, said gently, showing a rarely seen mature side of himself that began emerging at the end of their second year, when they learned of the after-effects of Aurelia's battle with the Basilisk.

Aurelia nodded and closed her eyes behind her sleek black Harley Davidson shades which hid her pupil-less eyes from view*. She tucked the side-fringe of her long raven black hair behind her ear. Her hair was pulled into a tight braid that fell to the back of her thighs and was held by a red and gold ribbon inter -woven into the bottom half of the braid.

"Do you know who the fourth school is?" Aurelia asked softly, after she took another sip of her potion. "I wasn't paying much attention when the adults were all discussing it over the summer."

"Magic School." Hermione replied.

"Hey, hey, Dumbledore is getting ready to talk." Neville Longbottom, a friend of Aurelia's and fellow fourth year, said.

And sure enough, seconds later, Headmaster Dumbledore – Grandpa Albus - began to speak.

"As you all know, Hogwarts will not only be your home this year, but home to some very special guests as well. Now, the Triwizard Tournament brings together three schools, this year four, for a series of magical contests. From each school, a single student will be selected to compete." His expression took a more serious note as he said, "Know this, if you are selected, you stand alone. And trust me when I say, these tasks are not for the faint-hearted." He lightened his tone as he continued, "But more on that later. Right now, please help me welcome the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and their Headmistress, Madam Maxime."

With his words, the doors to the Hall opened and a group of beautiful young ladies entered, followed by a large woman, their Headmistress, Madam Maxime.

As she passed him, Seamus Finnigan whispered to them, "That is one big woman."

The young women walked in perfect formation, all dressed in light blue silk, their hair pulled in perfect low ponytails with small light blue caps on their heads. At the front of the Hall, where the tables ended and the Headmasters Podium stood, they conjured a small flock of shimmering light blue birds. The last student twirled while another, younger girl, backflipped to the front, and they elegantly curtsied together. There was a round of applause for the students and their incredible entry.

Their Headmistress was the last to reach the front, where Headmaster Dumbledore, a man already taller than average, was entirely dwarfed by the woman, kissed her hand in greeting, before leading her to a seat at the High Table, while her students settled at the Ravenclaw table.

Dumbledore returned to the Podium and began to speak again, the applause immediately ending.

"And now, our friends from the north, please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang, and their High master, Igor Karkaroff."

Through the open doors, came a group of young men, each with a staff, which they banged against the stone floor before twirling, and doing a series of flips as they ran to the front. One student went on one knee and blew flame, creating a fire snake which swirled around before becoming a phoenix and burning out. The last to enter were Victor Krum and High master Karkaroff. There was a resounding round of applause.

As the two passed them at the Gryffindor table, Ron breathed out, awed, "Blimey, it's Krum. It's Victor Krum."

They reached the front where Dumbledore and Karkaroff embraced in greeting. The two separated, Karkaroff going to an open seat next to Madam Maxine, while his students settled at the Slytherin table.

As Dumbledore began to speak, the applause immediately died done.

"Now, let us welcome the astounding sons and daughters of Magic School, and their Headmaster, Leo Wyatt."

Everyone turned to the door, waiting. Suddenly, at the front of the Hall, there were gasps from the teachers. As one, the students of the three schools turned and saw blue orbs shimmering. Suddenly, the shimmer faded, revealing a middle-aged man and woman, with a group of students, all wearing stylish semi-casual muggle clothes. There was a round of applause.

As the two headmasters and woman greeted each other, Hermione cried out quietly, and somewhat frantically, "They apparated into the school. How did they apparate into the school?"

"They didn't apparate Hermione." Aurelia said softly, leaning more heavily against Fred, who shot her a worried look. "They used their own form of transportation. The wards don't recognize it, but let them through because they sensed no malcontent or threat to us."

"Oh." Hermione said, deflating. "Okay."

The Magic School students settled at the Hufflepuff table, while Leo and Piper sat at the open seats at the High Table.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and — most particularly — guests," said Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

One of the Beauxbatons girls gave what was unmistakably a derisive laugh.

"No one's making you stay!" Hermione whispered, bristling at her.

"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," said Dumbledore. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"

Dumbledore waved his hand, and Aurelia felt the magic ripple across the tables, signaling to the House-Elves below to send the food up. Once the food appeared, a wider variety than normal incorporating foods from the guests' home countries, Fred and Ron quickly piled some food onto a plate and coaxed Aurelia to eat a few bites, giving the young girl the energy needed for the potions to work. Slowly taking a few bites, she felt her strength return, knowing that the House-Elves had also laced her plate with the Revitalizing and Strengthening potion.

Within a few minutes, she was eating and talking with her classmates, as if she hadn't been nearly drained out a few minutes earlier. As this was usually the case, they simply carried on as if everything was normal.

"What's that?" said Ron, pointing at a large dish of some sort of shellfish stew that stood beside a large steak-and-kidney pudding.

"Bouillabaisse," said Hermione.

"Bless you," said Ron.

"It's French," said Hermione, "I had it on holiday summer before last. It's very nice."

"I'll take your word for it," said Ron, helping himself to black pudding.

Hagrid sidled into the Hall through a door behind the staff table twenty minutes after the start of the feast. He slid into his seat at the end and waved at Aurelia, Ron, and Hermione with a very heavily bandaged hand.

"Skrewts doing all right, Hagrid?" Aurelia called.

"Thrivin'," Hagrid called back happily, turning to Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, engaging them in a conversation.

"Yeah, I'll just bet they are," said Ron quietly. "Looks like they've finally found a food they like, doesn't it? Hagrid's fingers."

"So, Aurelia," Cedric Diggory, a seventh year Hufflepuff, asked from the Hufflepuff table. "Still looking forward to being a spectator this year?"

"Oh, absolutely." Aurelia said, laughing. "after the last three years, I am in desperate need of a quiet year."

The students around them all laughed.

"Really, no eternal glory for you Potter-Black?" Draco Malfoy, a fourth year Slytherin, asked, his trademark smirk on his face.

"Please, I get enough glory from my music and my skating." Aurelia replied, her radiant smile on her face. "Why get in to a potentially deadly situation for it?"

"First year." Neville said pointedly.

"Second year." Susan Bones, a fourth year Hufflepuff, added pointedly.

"Third year." Terry Boot, a fourth year Ravenclaw, chiped in pointedly.

"Those weren't for glory. They had lives at stake." Aurelia said, indignant.

"Right."

"There were!" Aurelia cried out.

"We're not denying it." Hannah Abbott, a fourth year Hufflepuff, said soothingly.

"It's actually the point." Neville said. "Your previous adventures all had a life or death aspect, with lives on the line. This would be something for fun."

"Potentially getting myself killed for everyone else's enjoyment." Aurelia said, a pondering look on her face. She shook her head and said, "Nope. I'll pass, thank you very much. But good luck to you."

Everyone laughed, as they returned to their meals, the conversation turning to more mundane matters, though Aurelia could hear the students at the other tables vaguely explaining to the guests what the hall-wide discussion was all about.

A short while later, they were interrupted by a French accented voice, "Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?"

It was the girl from Beauxbatons who had laughed during Dumbledore's speech. Aurelia felt the change in Ron's emotions, and slightly concerned about the sudden change in both him and the other boys, as well as the magic she could sense from the girl, she replied to the French girl pushing the dish towards her.

"Yeah, have it."

"You 'ave finished wiz it?"

"Yeah," Ron said breathlessly. "Yeah, it was excellent."

The girl picked up the dish and carried it carefully off to the Ravenclaw table. The boys were still goggling at the girl as though they had never seen one before. Aurelia started to laugh. The sound seemed to jog them back to their senses.

"She's a veela!" Ron said hoarsely to Aurelia.

"Of course she isn't!" said Hermione tartly. "I don't see anyone else gaping at her like an idiot!" But she wasn't entirely right about that. As the girl crossed the Hall, many boys' heads turned, and some of them seemed to have become temporarily speechless, just like Ron.

"I'm telling you, that's not a normal girl!" said Ron, leaning sideways so he could keep a clear view of her. His move mimicked by some of the other boys. "They don't make them like that at Hogwarts!"

"They make us okay at Hogwarts." Aurelia said, staring pointedly in Ron's general direction, though it was pretty pointless since Ron wouldn't be able to see her eyes due to the sunglasses, and he was still staring after the girl. "Though you are right about her being a veela."

"Really?" Ron asked breathlessly.

"Yea, though she isn't full-blooded." Aurelia added, mostly for the benefit of the girls, since the guys were busy drooling.

"When you boys put your eyes back in," said Hermione briskly, "you'll be able to see the next course has appeared."

Aurelia giggled at the embarrassed emotions she felt from her friends, helping herself to some of the foreign dessert.

"Do you think Dumbledore will ask you to sing?" Ginny asked, helping herself to some dessert as well.

"He hasn't told me anything, so I'm not really sure." Aurelia replied, frowning. "I wouldn't mind, but a part of me is hoping he doesn't because I haven't rehearsed. Though knowing my luck? Who knows?"

"Good point."

Once the plates were wiped clean, Dumbledore stood and walked in front of the High Table.

"Hogwarts, let's entertain our guests the best way we can!" he said, silencing the chatter as everyone waited for him to continue. "Miss. Potter-Black, will you give us a song?"

"Wha-?" Aurelia started. She shook her head. "No. No."

"Come on, Aurelia."

"One song!"

This was echoed by many student, even the Slytherins that didn't like her because of their parents being Death Eaters.

"Fine!" she said, sighing. "One song!"

"Yes!"

"Guys, any ideas?" she asked, as she stood to go to the front.

"Something cheerful and light." Hermione suggested.

Aurelia nodded and made her way to the front of the Hall, her 4" black high heeled pumps* clicking against the stone floor.

As she walked, she could hear many of her school-mates chanting, "Aurelia! Aurelia!"

She turned to face the Hall, and said, "Okay, I had no idea I was going to be singing tonight, so I haven't really come up with anything other than this. Those of you who know this song, please feel free to join in." she turned to the guests and continued, "this goes for you all as well."

She smiled, and taking a deep breath, she began to sing, her lilting voice echoing throughout the Hall, amplified by the magic of the castle as it provided the background music for her song. As she sang, her school-mates clapped in tune with the song and music.

_"Baby I knew at once_  
_That you were meant for me_  
_Deep in my soul I know_  
_That I'm your destiny_  
_Though you're unsure_  
_Why fight the tide_  
_Don't think so much_  
_Let your heart decide_

The students from Magic School all smiled and began clapping as well, some even joining in for a few verses.

_Baby I see your future_  
_And it's tied to mine_  
_I look in your eyes_  
_And see you searching for a sign_  
_But you'll never fall_  
_'Til you let go_  
_Don't be so scared_  
_Of what you don't know_

Seeing that the students were responding so well, Aurelia began moving around the Hall, and singing with those that had joined in, creating a harmonious balance of sound. At the chorus, almost all the Hogwarts students joined in, as well as a fair number of Magic School students.

_True to your heart_  
_You must be true to your heart_  
_That's when the heavens will part_  
_And baby shower you with my love_  
_Open your eyes_  
_Your heart can tell you no lies_  
_And when you're true to your heart_  
_I know it's gonna lead you straight to_  
_me_  
_(Got to be true to your heart)_

_Someone you know is on your side_  
_Can set you free_  
_I can do that for you_  
_If you believe in me_  
_Why second-guess_  
_What feels so right_  
_Just trust your heart_  
_And you'll see the light_

She walked to her father and Uncle Remus, taping them on the shoulders and they joined in on the chorus.

_True to your heart_  
_You must be true to your heart_  
_That's when the heavens will part_  
_And baby shower you with my love_  
_Open your eyes_  
_Your heart can tell you no lies_  
_And when you're true to your heart_  
_I know it's gonna lead you straight to_  
_me_  
_(Got to be true to your heart)_

_(Ya know it's true)_  
_Your heart knows what's good for you_  
_(Good for you)_  
_Let your heart show you the way_  
_(Ya know it's true)_  
_It'll see you through_  
_(Got to be true to your heart)_

_Girl my heart is driving me to where you_  
_are_  
_You can take both hands off the wheel_  
_and_  
_Still get far_  
_Be swept away enjoy the ride_  
_You won't get lost_  
_With your heart to guide you_

_True to your heart_  
_You must be true to your heart_  
_That's when the heavens will part_  
_And baby shower you with my love_  
_Open your eyes_  
_Your heart can tell you no lies_  
_And when you're true to your heart_  
_I know it's gonna lead you straight to_  
_me_  
_(Got to be true to your heart)_

_When things are getting crazy_  
_And you don't know where to start_  
_Keep on believing baby_  
_Just be true to your heart_  
_When all the world around you_  
_It seems to fall apart_  
_Keep on believing baby_  
_Just be true to your heart"_

There was a thundering applause as she curtsied and went back to her seat.

"Thank you, Miss. Potter-Black." Dumbledore said, as he moved to stand in front of them. "Now, Hogwarts, let us show our guests some school spirit with the school song. All rise. Everyone, pick a tune."

Everyone stood as Dumbledore turned around.

_"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, hoggy warty Hogwarts,_

_Teach us something please,_

_Whether we be old and bald,_

_Or young with scabby knees,_

_Our heads could do with filling,_

_With some interesting stuff,_

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

_So teach us things worth knowing,_

_Bring back what we've forgot,_

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

_And learn until our brains all rot."_

It was quite the symphony of sound. It was difficult to make out the words unless you either knew the lyrics or were watching the strip of ribbon above Dumbledore's head that was being used to conduct the song, especially with everyone singing to their own tune. Everyone ended at different times, the Weasley Twins ending last as they chose a funeral march.

Once the song was over, the students noticed a tall gold case encrusted with jewels on the stand where the Headmaster's Podium usually stood.

"Your attention please!" Dumbledore said, as he stood beside the case. The chatter which had filled the Hall after the song ended stopped abruptly, and you could almost hear a pin drop, as everyone waited with baited breath for Dumbledore to continue. He raised his wand and with barely a wave, the casket began to disintegrate softly, creating a fine gold mist that evaporated after a few seconds. As it began to disintegrate, a tall goblet was revealed, aged, yet ageless, seeming to exude magic. A blue flame sprang up from the top.

There were gasps throughout the Hall, as everyone stared at the goblet and the Headmaster.

"The Goblet of Fire." He said. "Anyone wishing to submit themselves to the tournament need only write their name on a piece of parchment and throw it into the flame before this hour tomorrow night. Do not do so lightly, for if chosen, there is no turning back. For as of this moment, the Triwizard Tournament has begun."

With those final words, the Headmaster bid everyone goodnight, and sent them off to bed. There was a flurry of activity as everyone stood and made their way out of the Great Hall.

Due to the crowd, and her growing exhaustion, Aurelia held both Ron and Hermione's elbows as they guided her.

They trio arrived at the doors at the same time as Karkaroff and some of his students. Aurelia tugged on their arms, stopping them to allow the elder man through first.

"Thank you." He said carelessly, barely giving her a glance, before his emotions changed and he turned back to her, staring as if he couldn't believe his eyes. Behind their headmaster, the students from Durmstrang came to a halt too. Aurelia felt Karkaroff's eyes move slowly up her face and fix upon her scar. The Durmstrang students were staring curiously at Aurelia too. Aurelia noticed when the comprehension dawned on a few of them. One boy nudged the boy next to him and pointed openly at Aurelia's forehead.

"Yeah, that's Aurelia Potter-Black," said a growling voice from behind them.

Professor Karkaroff spun around. Mad-Eye Moody was standing there, leaning heavily on his staff, his magical eye glaring unblinkingly at the Durmstrang headmaster.

Karkaroff's emotions changed again, from shock to one of mingled fury and terror, as he looked at Moody.

"You!" he said, staring at Moody as though unsure he was really seeing him.

"Me," said Moody grimly. "And unless you've got anything to say to Potter-Black, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You're blocking the doorway."

It was true; Aurelia could feel the students' confusion as to what was causing the hold-up. Without another word, Karkaroff swept off, followed by his students. With the doorway cleared, Remus and Sirius came to them and Sirius slid an arm around Aurelia to support the quickly weakening girl.

"Be careful of that one Potter-Black." Moody said gruffly before walking away, his wooden leg clanking at every other step.

"That was weird." Fred commented, as they began walking again. Aurelia hummed in agreement.

"Tell me about it." She said softly. "Here I was thinking we could have a nice, quiet year with no death threats."

"With us? Not a chance in hell." Ginny piped up, snorting.

Aurelia chuckled weakly, her strength waning. There was a sharp intake of breath not far from them. turning, they saw five of the guests from Magic School.

"Are you lost?" Sirius asked pointedly, though still polite. All he wanted to do was get his daughter to a bed where she could get some much-needed rest.

"Do you need help finding your assigned House? Or the Teacher's Wing?" Aurelia asked softly, tilting her head up so she could talk to them.

"Is there a Teacher's Wing?" Ginny asked, turning to Hermione, who rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Yes, of course there is. It's in -"

"Hogwarts: A History." The kids all chorused together. "When will you ever read it?"

"Which House have you been assigned to?" Aurelia asked, as Ron and Hermione began bickering over the importance of reading Hogwarts: A History.

"Gryffindor." The younger girl replied, after a brief flash of amusement.

"We're in Gryffindor too." Aurelia said, smiling weakly. She turned to the twins. "Do you know where the Teacher's Wing is?"

"Do we know where the Teacher's Wing is?" the twins echoed indignantly. "Of course we know where the Teacher's Wing is. How can you doubt us?"

They began faking hysterics, before Ginny wacked them on the head. Rubbing their heads, they said, "We can take you there."

"I'm Aurelia Potter-Black by the way." Aurelia said. "This is my father, Sirius Black and Uncle, Remus Lupin. My best friends, Hermione Granger, Ronald, Fred, George, and Ginny Weasley."

"I'm Melinda Halliwell." Said the girl who had responded to Hila's earlier question. "These are my brothers Wyatt and Chris and our parents, Leo Wyatt and Piper Halliwell."

"The figure skater known as the Lightning Emerald?" Piper asked, curiosity pouring off her in waves.

"Yes, that's me." Aurelia replied with a weak smile, though her surprise was still evident. Most of the time, people saw her as The-Girl-Who-Lived and the fame that went with it, not as an internationally acclaimed singer and figure-skater. It not only irritated her, but her family as well, that people would not see her for the fame she received through her own merits but something her birth mother did in an attempt to save her.

"You're The-Twice-Blessed-Child and one of the Charmed Ones." Hermione said reverently, drawing their attention to her. "I've read all abo-hmmph."

"Don't mind her." Ginny said, putting a hand over the older girls' mouth. "We have a bet going on that she managed to smuggle a book in her mother's womb." Hermione glared at them. "The twins will take you to the Teacher's Wing before going to the Gryffindor Tower."

The twins nodded, and turned around. "Come on."

"Thank you." Melinda said.

They nodded, and the twins led the small group away.

"Okay, Infirmary or Common Room?" Ginny asked, turning to Aurelia.

"Infirmary." Aurelia all but gasped. It was getting closer to midnight, which meant it was getting closer to Halloween. The ever-constant pain, which had been getting progressively more painful, was now becoming almost unbearable, taking almost all her strength to not scream in agony. It was made all the more worse by the fact that Hogwarts had to let down her wards to allow entry to their guests, something the ancient castle was not happy about. The castle's unhappiness was feeding into the pain that Aurelia was already feeling, magnifying it exponentially.

Sirius picked up his daughter and carried her bridal style to the Infirmary, all but running the entire way, with Remus, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny following behind.

Once they reached the Infirmary, Sirius put Aurelia on her usual bed, while Ginny went to get Poppy and Remus went to the fireplace to call Severus and tell him to bring some potions for Aurelia.

The entire time, Aurelia was squeezing her father's hand and trying very hard not to scream, as the pain got steadily worse. A few minutes later, the two adults came to the bed from different directions and began working in tandem, running scans and magicking potions down her throat. The last thing they did was put up the powerful silencing wards around the bed, so that none of Aurelia's screams would be heard throughout the castle like the year before. They had just put up the ward as the clock struck midnight and Aurelia opened her mouth in a scream that none of them heard, but still felt.

"Now we wait." Severus said heavily, sitting on an empty bed.

Remus nodded heavily as they all found places to sit. About twenty minutes later, the twins came in and found places to sit.

It wasn't long before they all fell into fitful sleep, waking every little while to check on the girl that came to mean so much to them.

_Link (on pinterest):_

_*Aurelia's shades - pin/235102043024334940/_

_*Aurelia's shoes -_ _pin/557109416376470792/_


	2. The Fifth Champion

**Chapter 2 – The Fifth Champion**

The rest of the night passed with fitful sleep, and once the sun rose and the castle awoke, students and teachers alike stopped by the Infirmary to see how Aurelia was doing. Severus left before the first of the visitors began dropping in, wanting to stock up on the potions that Aurelia would need and to see if there was a way to help ease the pain she was in. Those who didn't come, or were unable to bare the sight of the young girl thrashing and writhing in agony, were given updates by those that did visit.

The visitors updated those that stayed in the infirmary about the contestants and the antics of those that tried to fool the Age-Line that Dumbledore drew. After some time, the twins left as well, hoping to try their luck with an Aging Potion. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were encouraged to spend some time out of the Infirmary with their schoolmates, which they did very reluctantly. They eventually came back with a bearded Fred and George who learned of the side-effects Dumbledore weaved into his Age-Line.

Throughout it all, Aurelia had small bouts of conscious, lucid moments, were she listened to the stories of whoever was there, and laughed along with them as well. Finally, as the sun was going down, she began to feel slightly better, the pain becoming more bearable, at least enough to attend the Feast and the Champion Selections. To be on the safe side, Poppy kept her in the Infirmary until right before the feast began.

Once Aurelia arrived at the Great Hall, it was to numerous people asking how she was feeling an if she was sure she would be okay to stay. Reassuring her schoolmates, she sat at the Gryffindor table, and reached for the goblet filled with her potion. After a few quick words from Dumbledore, the feast began. While it was just as loud and rowdy as any other feast, or meal in general, there was an underlying current of anticipation running through the Hall. During the meal, Aurelia had people continuously ask her if she was feeling strong enough to stay, since even with her sunglasses, they could all see that she was in great pain. She just assured them that while she was in pain, it wasn't as bad as before, and if she began to feel worse, she would leave. They accepted her words, though she still felt them all keep an eye on her.

Finally, the dishes were wiped clean for the last time. The students, who had all been sitting at random tables and with their friends from different Houses, went to sit at their House tables, with the three guest schools lining three of the four walls. The teachers all stood and made a sort of path from the Hall to the stairs that led to the antechamber where the champions would go once selected.

"Sit down. Please." Dumbledore said, as the noise level began to decrease. He stood in the middle of the Hall, looking around at all the students and teachers, as the students took their seats. "Now the moment you've all been waiting for: The Champion selection." He waved his hand, nearly extinguishing all the lamps and candles, until only the flaming glow of the Goblet of Fire remained, filling the Hall with a soft blue light. He turned to the Goblet and waited for it to spit out the first name.

Suddenly, the blue flame turned red as a piece of parchment flew out and slowly drifted down towards Dumbledore's outstretched hand.

Taking the sizzling piece of parchment, he called out, "The Durmstrang Champion is…Victor Krum."

There was a loud round of applause, mostly provided by the Durmstrang students, as Krum stood up, went to Dumbledore, shook hands and made his way to the antechamber. Once he was out of sight, the Hall fell silent as all eyes turned to the Goblet.

Not even a minute later, the flames turned red once again as another slip of parchment was spat out and slowly drifted down to Dumbledore's outstretched hand.

Taking it, he called out, "The Champion for Beauxbatons…is Fleur Delacour."

There was a loud round of cheering from the ladies of Beauxbatons that accompanied the applause as the blonde veela stood up with a smile. She walked to Dumbledore, shook his hand and made her way to the antechamber.

The noise died as the flames turned red once again, spitting out another piece of parchment. Taking it, the man cried out, "The Magic School Champion is…Wyatt Halliwell."

There was a loud round of applause, amplified by the Magic School students, as Wyatt made his way to the front of the Hall, shook Dumbledore's hand, and walked towards the antechamber.

The flames turned red once again as the final piece of parchment shot out and drifted down to Dumbledore's outstretched hand.

"The Hogwarts Champion, Cedric Diggory!"

There was a deafening round of applause, as Cedric stood up and made his way to the front. He shook his Headmaster's hand, and made his way to the antechamber.

Aurelia clapped and cheered with everyone else, especially when the Hogwarts Champion was selected. However, the pain, which had been bearable for the last 2 hours or so, was starting to become unbearable once again. With a quiet word to her friends, she began to quietly make her way towards the door, barely listening to what Dumbledore was saying when Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor took hold of her arm.

Before Aurelia could ask what the matter was, Dumbledore said, "Aurelia Potter-Black."

Aurelia turned towards the Headmaster, confused, and feeling emotions of shock and disbelief coming from all around her.

Hermione stood and hurried towards her, whispering, thought it was still heard in the pin drop silence, "Your name just came out of the Goblet, Aurelia. You have to go up."

Aurelia shook her head in confusion, the pain becoming unbearable and making her dizzy. Hermione gently nudged her friend forward, and as Aurelia walked toward the front of the Hall, a few of her schoolmates on either side of her gave her supporting hands as she swayed ever so slightly. She could feel their concern mixed in with their shock and confusion.

"She's a cheat!" someone cried out, echoed by a handful of others.

"She's not even 17 yet!" cried others.

Aurelia reached the front of the Hall, and Dumbledore waved her towards the antechamber. As she passed McGonagall, the elderly witch patted her shoulder in sympathy, while Remus and Sirius just felt shocked, along with Severus.

She entered the antechamber, and noticed the four Champions were milling about, waiting for the teachers. Noticing her, they turned around.

"What is it?" Fleur said imperiously. "Do zey want us back in ze Hall?"

Aurelia shook her head in shock, before promptly regretting it as it made her even more dizzy. She moaned.

"Aurelia? Is everything okay?" Cedric asked, walking towards the younger girl.

"Here, sit down." She heard Wyatt say, gently leading her towards a chair and pushing her into it. Aurelia put a hand to her forehead and winced as a headache began to forming, adding to the agony she was already in.

There was a sound of scurrying feet behind him, and Ludo Bagman entered the room. He took Aurelia's by the arm and pulled her up from the chair. She swayed, and reached for the mans' arm for support. He didn't seem to notice.

"Extraordinary!" he muttered, squeezing Aurelia's arm. "Absolutely extraordinary! Gentlemen . . . lady," he added, approaching the fireside and addressing the other three. "May I introduce — incredible though it may seem — the fifth Triwizard champion?"

Aurelia rubbed her forehead again with her free arm. She could feel the confusion coming from the Champions, though Fleur said with an amused tone, "Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman."

"Joke?" Bagman repeated, bewildered. "No, no, not at all! Aurelia's name just came out of the Goblet of Fire!"

The confusion turned to shock, as she felt them look at her.

"But evidently zair 'as been a mistake," Fleur said contemptuously to Bagman. "She cannot compete. She is too young."

"Well . . . it is amazing," said Bagman, rubbing his smooth chin and smiling down at Aurelia. "But, as you know, the age restriction was only imposed this year as an extra safety measure. And as her name's come out of the goblet . . . I mean, I don't think there can be any ducking out at this stage... It's down in the rules, you're obliged . . . Aurelia will just have to do the best she —"

The door behind them opened again, and a large group of people came in: Professor Dumbledore, followed closely by Mr. Crouch, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Headmaster Wyatt, Mrs. Halliwell, Professors McGonagall, Snape, Moody, Remus and Sirius. Aurelia heard the buzzing of the hundreds of students on the other side of the wall, before Professor McGonagall closed the door.

"Madame Maxime!" said Fleur at once, striding over to her headmistress. "Zey are saying zat zis little girl is to compete also!"

Somewhere under Aurelia's agony and disbelief she felt a ripple of anger. _Little girl?_

"What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr?" Madam Maxime said imperiously. She had drawn herself up to her full, and considerable, height.

"I'd rather like to know that myself, Dumbledore," said Professor Karkaroff. "_Two_ Hogwarts champions? I don't remember anyone telling me the host school is allowed two champions — or have I not read the rules carefully enough?" He gave a short and nasty laugh.

"C'est impossible," said Madame Maxime. "'Ogwarts cannot 'ave two champions. It is most injust."

"We were under the impression that your Age Line would keep out younger contestants, Dumbledore," said Karkaroff, "Otherwise, we would, of course, have brought along a wider selection of candidates from our own schools."

Dumbledore looked towards Aurelia, his beloved granddaughter, and asked, in a firm yet gentle voice, "Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Aurelia?" he asked calmly, using her full name rather than the nickname, 'Stella', that he had given her when she was little to convey the gravity of the situation.

"No," she replied. She was very aware of everybody watching her closely. Karkaroff made a soft noise of impatient.

"Did you ask an older student to put it into the Goblet of Fire for you?" said Professor Dumbledore, ignoring Karkaroff.

"No," said Aurelia, in as strong a voice she could, which admittedly wasn't all that much.

"Ah, but of course she is lying!" cried Madame Maxime.

"She isn't!" Wyatt rebutted.

"'Ow would you know?"

"I'm an Empath, I can feel her emotions." Wyatt all but snapped back. Not only could he feel Aurelia's honesty, he could also feel the pain she was in, and it was taking everything he had not to breakdown and scream in pain at what he was feeling from her. "And I can't feel any deceit from her. Only confusion, terror, a little disgruntlement, and a lot of pain!"

"How do you know she isn't faking those emotions?" Karkaroff spat.

"You can't fake emotions! You can only hide them! Like they are-." He pointed to Snape, Moody and Dumbledore, before continuing, "And the pain she is in? It's almost entirely physical, which I can feel because I am a Whitelighter."

"Zat does not mean she didn't put 'er name in. Maybe she zust didn't expect to be called!" Fleur cried out.

"She could not have crossed the Age Line," said Professor McGonagall sharply. "I am sure we are all agreed on that —"

"Dumbly-dorr must 'ave made a mistake wiz ze line," said Madame Maxime, shrugging.

"Are you listening to yourself?" Piper cried out, indignantly. "_Albus Dumbledore_ make a mistake with something as simple and basic as an Age Line that my kids could conjure before they were five years old without any problem! What are you on?"

"Mr. Crouch . . . Mr. Bagman," said Karkaroff, in a rather despicable tone, "you are our — er — objective judges. Surely you will agree that this is most irregular?"

"More importantly, is there any way to get Aurelia out of competing?" Remus asked, much more politely.

"We must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the tournament." With that one sentence, Crouch dashed any hopes that they might have had. Aurelia just sighed and rested her head against Sirius' chest as he held her. She was utterly wiped out, and all she wanted to do was sleep.

"Well, Barty knows the rule book back to front," said Bagman, beaming and turning back to Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, as though the matter was now closed.

"I insist upon resubmitting the names of the rest of my students," said Karkaroff. "You will set up the Goblet of Fire once more, and we will continue adding names until each school has two champions. It's only fair, Dumbledore."

"But Karkaroff, it doesn't work like that," said Bagman. "The Goblet of Fire's just gone out — it won't reignite until the start of the next tournament —"

"— in which Durmstrang will most certainly not be competing!" exploded Karkaroff. "After all our meetings and negotiations and compromises, I little expected something of this nature to occur! I have half a mind to leave now!"

"Empty threat, Karkaroff," growled Moody. "You can't leave your champion now. He's got to compete. They've all got to compete. Binding magical contract, like Dumbledore said. Convenient, eh?"

"Convenient?" said Karkaroff. "I'm afraid I don't understand you, Moody."

Aurelia could tell he was trying to sound disdainful, as though what Moody was saying was barely worth his notice, but his emotions gave him away; he was angry, very angry.

"Don't you?" said Moody quietly. "It's very simple, Karkaroff. Someone put Potter's name in that goblet knowing she'd have to compete if it came out."

"Evidently, someone 'oo wished to give 'Ogwarts two bites at ze apple!" said Madame Maxime.

"I quite agree, Madame Maxime," said Karkaroff, bowing to her. "I shall be lodging complaints with the Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards —"

"If anyone's got reason to complain, it's Potter," growled Moody, "but . . . funny thing . . . I don't hear her saying a word..."

"Why should she complain?" burst out Fleur Delacour, stamping her foot. Evidently, she still believed Aurelia put her own name in the cup, despite Wyatt backing her up. "Sh e 'as ze chance to compete, 'asn't she? We 'ave all been 'oping to be chosen for weeks and weeks! Ze honor for our schools! A thousand Galleons in prize money — zis is a chance many would die for!"

"Maybe someone's hoping Potter-Black is going to die for it," said Moody, with the merest trace of a growl. There was silence at the ex-Auror's words, as the implications really sunk in.

"We all know Professor Moody considers the morning wasted if he hasn't discovered six plots to murder him before lunchtime," said Karkaroff loudly. "Apparently, he is now teaching his students to fear assassination too. An odd quality in a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dumbledore, but no doubt you had your reasons."

"Imagining things, am I?" growled Moody. "Seeing things, eh? It was a skilled witch or wizard who put the girl's name in that goblet…"

"Ah, what evidence is zere of zat?" said Madame Maxime, throwing up her huge hands.

"The Goblet of Fire is an exceptionally powerful magical object." Moody growled in response. "Only an exceptionally powerful Confundus Charm could've hoodwinked it. Magic way beyond the talents of a fourth year, even one as powerful as Miss. Potter-Black."

Dumbledore spoke up, silencing Madam Maxime and Karkaroff as they were gearing up to retort.

"She iz ztill zust a little girl!" Madame Maxime cried out, indignation rolling off her in waves, as she unknowingly reiterated what Fleur had said earlier. "She is too young."

Wyatt could feel the anger coming off Aurelia in waves, temporarily drowning out the pain, as they listened to what was being said. Krum was silent, watching the proceedings, not having an opinion as of yet. Cedric, while confused as to how this happened, was getting angry because he could see the pain she was in, and he was also among those that were in the Infirmary until right before the feast.

"Does anyone remember where she was the entire day today?" Cedric asked loudly, finally getting fed-up with the arguing. Everyone turned to look at him. "Or why, for that matter?"

Madam Maxime, Karkaroff, Bagman and Crouch looked at him in confusion.

"What does that have to do with anything, boy?" Karkaroff asked imperiously.

"She was in the Infirmary since after dinner last night." Cedric replied, not even bothering to keep his disdain hidden. "And before you start about how she could've left or told anyone of us that were there, she was in so much pain she could barely breathe, let alone talk or leave."

As he spoke, he glared at the four of them, daring them to say anything to contradict him.

"Ced," Aurelia said quietly, making them turn to her, "just leave it. They have made their opinions known. There is nothing we can do or say that will change that."

"How this situation arose, we do not know," Dumbledore said, speaking to everyone gathered in the room, bringing them back to the situation at hand and stopping any arguments from starting. "It seems to me, however, that we have no choice but to accept it. Both Cedric and Aurelia have been chosen to compete in the Tournament. This, therefore, they will do…"

"Ah, but Dumbly-dorr —"

"My dear Madame Maxime, if you have an alternative, I would be delighted to hear it." Dumbledore waited, but Madame Maxime did not speak, she merely glared. She wasn't the only one angry. Severus, Sirius and Remus were furious; Karkaroff was livid; Bagman, however, was rather excited.

"Well, shall we crack on, then?" he said, rubbing his hands together and smiling around the room. "Got to give our champions their instructions, haven't we? Barty, want to do the honors?"

"Yes," Mr. Crouch said, "instructions. Yes . . . the first task . . ."

"The first task is designed to test your daring," he told the five Champions, "so we are not going to be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard or witch ... very important... The first task will take place on November the twenty-fourth, in front of the other students and the panel of judges. The champions are not permitted to ask for or accept help of any kind from their teachers to complete the tasks in the tournament. The champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands, or active powers. They will receive information about the second task when the first is over. Owing to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the tournament, the champions, should they so choose, are exempted from end-of-year tests."

Mr. Crouch turned to look at Dumbledore.

"I think that's all, is it, Albus?"

"I think so," said Dumbledore. He proceeded to invite everyone for a nightcap, which was promptly rejected. Sirius picked a barely awake Aurelia and strode out the door, calling out over his shoulder, "Albus, I'm staying in the Infirmary with Aurelia."

At the sounds of acknowledgment from Dumbledore, he left the room with Remus in tow holding Aurelia's heels. Cedric was quick to follow them, wanting to tell Aurelia that he believed her. He had just missed them, so resolved to do so at the next available moment.

"Albus, will she be alright?" Leo asked Albus worriedly as they left the antechamber.

"Yes, she will be alright." Dumbledore said reassuringly. "You'll see her get up to her usual antics by Monday at the latest."

"Oh, I hope you don't." McGonagall muttered.

"Come now Minerva, her antics are quite amusing, you must admit." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling madly.

McGonagall just sighed exasperatedly as they all split up and went their separate ways. The Halliwell's went to an unused classroom that was being used for their party, while Dumbledore went to the Infirmary to check on Aurelia and McGonagall went to check on her lions and inform them that Aurelia would be staying in the Infirmary as a precaution.


	3. Reactions

**Chapter 3 – Reactions**

Gryffindor

While the teachers and the Champions were in the antechamber, the Gryffindor students were having a House-wide discussion/ debate in their Common Room.

"I'm telling you, there is no way Aurelia could've put her name in the Goblet! It is completely impossible." Hermione insisted from where she was sitting on one of the tables.

"Then how'd her name get in there?" Cormac McLaggen, a fifth- year, demanded arrogantly. "She is incredibly powerful, especially after her second year. She could've gotten past the Age Line."

There were a few scattered nods and comprehending looks from some of them.

"Tell me, Cormac, where _was_ Aurelia since dinner last night?" Ginny demanded, in a low tone that had her brothers looking for places to hide, as she stood up and faced the rest of the House.

The students that were ready to accuse Aurelia of cheating suddenly deflated as they realized what the furious red-head was saying.

"She was in the Infirmary, surrounded by wards so we don't hear her pain-filled screams like we did last year." Colin pipped up helpfully, when no one responded to the question, reminding everyone what the girl they were accusing was going through.

"Exactly! And ever since we learned about this Tournament at the beginning of the year, Aurelia has been saying that she was looking forward to a quiet year _without_ the possibility of a psychopath trying to kill her! Aurelia is probably scared out of her wits right now trying to figure out who put her name in the bloody thing, along with still being in incredible pain. Or have you forgotten that it is still All Hallows Eve?" Hermione put in, looking just as dangerous.

At the question, everyone shuffled their feet and hung their heads in shame. They remembered just how much pain Aurelia was in on this day the year before, and the horror they all felt at hearing her screams.

"And let me get one thing clear to all of you." Ginny said, looking at each of them with a terrifying look of her face. "The stress of tonight hasn't helped at all. If I get wind of even one of you giving her grief about her name in the Goblet, I will Bat-Bogey you so badly, your descendants will still be feeling it long after you're all dead and gone."

Silence fell as Ginny finished her threat.

"You're right Ginny." Angelina said, "We had all gone to visit her at different times today. We all saw just how weak she was, and in how much pain. She didn't even bother trying to say that she was fine whenever anyone asked her during dinner. And we all know that she's the kind of person that will say she's fine even if she's missing a limb and bleeding profusely."

"I think it's best if we don't mention it unless she brings it up, aside from telling her that we stand by her side." Katie Bell, another sixth-year, added. "And besides, remember how wrong we were the last time we didn't believe her when she was being accused of something? She's going to need us to stand by her side, especially if everyone else doesn't."

With that, they effectively wrapped up the discussion, and turned to speculating what the tasks were going to be and how they could help Aurelia.

Several hours later, Professor McGonagall came in to informed everyone that Aurelia was staying in the Infirmary and send them to bed. Before turning in, Angelina spoke up, her voice halting those that had already begun making their way to the dormitories.

"Professor, please tell Aurelia that we are on her side, and that we will do whatever we can to help her."

McGonagall smiled and said, "Twenty points to Gryffindor for standing by a House-mates' side when they need it the most."

"Professor?" Ron asked, a worried tone in his voice.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley."

"Is there any way for Aurelia to get out of this Tournament?" he asked, making the everyone stop and look between their Head of House and their House-mate.

"I'm sorry Mr. Weasley." McGonagall replied sadly, "The Goblet binds the Champions with a magically binding oath. To break it in any way would result in either death or the loss of one's magic."

"But if Aurelia were to lose her magic, it would kill her!" Hermione exclaimed, her worry rapidly escalating to panic.

The resident bookworm's exclamation open the floodgates to a hoard of questions and cries of worry and fear. Ginny whistled, getting their attention.

"Hermione, what do you mean that Aurelia would die if she lost her magic?" Ginny asked, turning to her friend as there were nods all around them.

"As a Star, Aurelia is a completely magical being." Hermione began, "And she's incredibly powerful. Especially after her battle with the Basilisk when all the powers and abilities of her bloodline were activated."

"Oh, my god."

"I can't believe it."

"This is crazy."

The sounds of shock and horror were echoed throughout the Common Room.

"Are you saying that if she were to back out," Fred started, horror on his face.

"Aurelia will die either way?" George finished, his face a mirror of his twin's.

The same expression was on the faces of every other person in the Room.

"That is precisely what Miss. Granger is saying Mr. Weasley." McGonagall said curtly, though they could all see the pain in the older woman's eyes at the thought. "However, Miss. Potter-Black is going to compete, as there is no way out. She is currently resting in the Infirmary and you may see her tomorrow. Now, off to bed please, all of you."

With a few grumbles and yawns, her lions did as asked and made their way up to their dormitory rooms. With a small smile, she turned and left the Common Room, going back to the Infirmary where she stayed the night. She was proud of her lions for the loyalty and friendship they showed to her beloved niece.

Hufflepuff

When Cedric returned to his Common Room after leaving the antechamber, he was met with a mix of cheers and questions. Smiling and accepting the congratulations, he went to the middle of the Room and stood on one of the tables, waiting for everyone to calm down so that he could explain what had happened.

Slowly, the noise went down as they all took seats around him.

"So, what happened?" Zacharias Smith, a fourth-year, asked. "What is Dumbledore doing about Potter-Black putting her name in the Goblet?"

"She didn't put her name in the Goblet, nor did she ask anyone to do it for her!" Cedric said with a frown.

At his statement, everyone erupted in whispers, some shouting about the unfairness among other things.

"She's been in the Infirmary the entire day, behind wards. How could she have told anyone? And you all saw her at dinner. She was barely shining because of the amount of pain she was in. And you all know how terrible she is at lying." Cedric snapped angrily, silencing everyone. "Some of us went to see her today in the Infirmary, remember how weak she was? She was barely able to breathe. Tell me how she could've possibly told anyone to put her name in the Goblet or do it herself."

There was no reply from the now silent Common Room as they stared at the one person who had the right to be upset and angry, yet was defending the person who had essentially stolen his spotlight. It was to this silence that Madam Sprout entered the Common Room.

Seeing his Head of House, Cedric turned to her and asked, "How is Aurelia doing, Professor? She was incredibly weak and tired while we were in the antechamber after the selections. Not to mention terrified at the prospect of having to compete."

This question, combined with the pure worry for his friend on his face and in his voice, took the elderly woman by surprise. She had honestly believed that he would be upset over not being the only Hogwarts Champion, regardless of his friendship with the young Star.

"Miss. Potter-Black is resting in the Infirmary." She replied, looking at her student with pride. Regardless of her thoughts, Cedric showed true Hufflepuff spirit - loyalty to a friend above all else.

Magic School

When Wyatt entered the classroom, his parents taking their time so the teens could have a chance to bee teenagers without adult supervision, that was being used by them for their celebration, he was met with a flurry of questions from all his schoolmates, making it impossible to understand who was saying what. Unable to understand, he simply walked towards one of the tables that lined the walls and hopped on top, waiting for everyone to get the questions out of their systems before he could begin replying.

Once the noise level went down, he spoke.

"I know everyone has questions, but I want to get one thing straight." The young king looked at each of his school-mates in the eye, letting some of his magic shine through the blue orbs. "Aurelia Potter-Black did not put her name in the Goblet of Fire."

Before he could go any further to justify his declaration, he was interrupted by his brother.

"We know that Wy." Chris waved his hand dismissively. "We aren't that clueless, not to mention we have enough Empaths here who were able to feel her emotions throughout dinner and when her name was called. She had been in pain and when her name was called she was terrified, barely able to make her way to the antechamber. What we want to know is, is there any way for her to get out of it? Or at least for her to get help during the Tournament, at least to even up the playing field because of how young she is?"

Wyatt nodded his understanding of what his brother was saying. The younger white-lighter was right. There were enough Empaths in their group, not to mention those that weren't, were able to read emotions well enough for them to decipher the truth of the situation.

"There isn't a way for her to get out of it." Wyatt told his group regretfully. Before they could voice their displeasure at the statement, he continued, "I found out that she's a Star. With the Tournament being magically binding, even if there was a way for her to be removed from the Tournament without taking part, she would lose her magic."

This statement received a flurry of horror-filled cries. Even though Wiccans used their surroundings for their spells and as the focus for their magic, and they were able to bind their magic if needed, they were still taught what could happen if they lost their magic due to a magically binding contract. For a purely magical being like a Star to lose their magic would mean a fate worse than death; the Star would die, but their spirit would be trapped on Earth, unable to reach the Heavens and unable to shine for all time.

"What about a way to level the playing field?" Oliver Martins, a brown haired hazel eyed teen asked. At his question, the students turned to look at him with open mouths. The shocked reaction was due to the fact that he never was one to particularly care about those outside of his circle of friends, or his school mates in this case. There was also the fact that he hadn't been very keen on the idea of coming all the way to England for 'a stupid Tournament' as he had put it when the announcement had been made. "Come on. Just because I don't particularly care about being here, doesn't mean I'm completely heartless." He said defensively when he saw the looks aimed at him. "I saw her shock and fear when her name came up. And I noticed the pain she was in yesterday."

"Fair point." Wyatt commented before turning to everyone. "I don't really know if there is a way to even things out. I'm sure her House-mates will help her, even if the rest of the school doesn't. Other than that, there isn't much we can do."

"Wyatt is right." A voice came from the door, making the students jump. They turned to see Mrs. Piper at the door followed by Mr. Leo. The couple came in, standing by their eldest son, within touching distance but not going for the customary 'embarrass my kid in front of his classmates' that they usually go for, knowing this was not the time for it. "As much as I would like to kick Karkaroff in the ass-."

"Piper!" Leo cried out.

"There is really nothing we can do," Piper continued, ignoring her husband's scandalized look. She was well aware of the fact that his reaction was from her swearing in front of the teens rather than the fact that she was essentially bad-mouthing a fellow teacher.

"What did Karkaroff do that pissed you off Mom?" Melinda asked from her perch on one of the desks so she could see what was going on. She was still only 13-years-old and hadn't quite hit her growth spurt yet.

"Nothing in particular." Piper admitted. "He just rubs me the wrong way. Regardless, I want all of you on your best behavior." She looked at all the students with a stern eye. "I know you all believe that Miss. Potter-Black didn't put her name in the Goblet and I am very proud of you for forming your own opinions. However, that doesn't mean you will be allowed to pick fights with those that do not believe her. It is entirely likely that there will be those who don't believe her and will try to make life difficult for her, because let's face it, this is high school." Piper paused for a moment before adding, "Sort of."

Her comment received a scattering of laughs, breaking the tension that had been building. Without even realizing it, the American students all quietly decided that when they get the chance, they were going to tell Aurelia that they believed that she didn't put her name in the Goblet.

"Mom do you know how she's doing?" Wyatt asked his mother, turning to her.

"No sweetie, I don't." she replied sadly. "All I know is that she'll be spending the night in the Hospital Wing." She squeezed his shoulder, knowing just how hard it was for her son to let go when he saw people in pain.

"Mom, Wyatt, what do you mean?" Melinda asked, confusion marring her face, along with a hint of worry.

"Aurelia." Leo replied, looking at his daughter knowing the students were listening. "She had been incredibly exhausted by the time we adjourned, and had to be carried out of the antechamber by her father. They didn't seem worried, in the sense that they weren't panicking, but she is going to be staying in the Hospital Wing like your mother said." He turned to the whole group. "There isn't much we can do about it right now. If you want to celebrate, than by all means, go ahead but curfew is 1 am. Those that aren't interested in partying, Piper and I are headed to our Tower. You can spend the night with us so you wouldn't be disrupting those that have already fallen asleep in your selected dormitories. Those that are staying, Piper and I will wait for you to let you in, so 1 am. Please return to the Tower in time."

The students looked around at each other, many were already yawning as the excitement and panic slowly faded, leaving behind the jet lag from the 8 – 9 hour time difference.

"I think we're all ready to just sleep Leo." Olivia Martins, a brown haired hazel eyed girl – Oliver's twin sister, said with a small yawn.

"All right." Piper said with a smile. Wyatt moved to put his back to his sister, who need no encouragement to jump on. Wyatt tightened his grip on his sisters' thighs to keep her from falling as she buried her head in the crook of his neck. As a group, they left the classroom and made their way to the Tower where Piper and Leo would be staying for the duration of their visit, along with the occasional student or their kids.

It was a quiet trek to the designated Tower and within moments of entering and getting their bedding ready, the students were all fast asleep in various places around the large room that was supposed to be the Towers Sitting/ Family Room that had been turned into sleeping quarters for the large group of teens. With a shake of their heads, Piper and Leo left the teens to sleep and went to their own room, following the kids into sleep moments later.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Headmaster's Office

Up in the Headmaster's empty office, a beautiful Phoenix lifted his head and let out a lilting tune, echoing through the grounds of the school at the changes he felt in the air. He sang for the young Star whose life hung in the balance and for the young king who was the only one who could save her when the time came. The question was, will he realize it in time?

Forbidden Forest

Deep in the Black Forest, known also as the Forbidden Forest by the humans that lived at the Ancient Castle, a herd of Centaurs raised their heads and looked to the star-filled sky as they heard the Phoenix' song.

"So, the King has met the Star." Bane said to the rest.

"But will he be able to save her?" Firenze, a younger centaur, asked with worry. He had grown quite attached to the young girl with the heart of gold.

"That remains to be seen." Magorian said to him, placing a hand on the younger one's shoulder. There had been a time when he had no love for the humans, however they had heard stories from the castle about the young Star and her faith and loyalty towards others. Her kindness towards all creation was what drew them to her, her ability to smile despite the war that raged through her on a daily basis. As he thought about the young Star, he thought about what they had foreseen. If the King could save the Star, than the two would usher in a new age of magic, however, if he were to fail, darkness would reign terror the likes of which that had not been seen since the Days of Darkness when Camelot had been sieged by darkness.

Hogwarts

Unaware of the changes that the elder beings were feeling, Sunday passed quietly, with visits being made to the Infirmary for various reasons, from visiting Aurelia to being actual patients. Aurelia spent the day resting from all the excitement from the previous day, though McGonagall had told her of her House-mates declaring that they were on her side even if the rest of the school wasn't. Aurelia managed a light chuckle at the pride her Aunt showed when telling her the story.

To be honest, Aurelia was in fact very happy that her House-mates were in her corner, especially after what had happened the previous time. She would need all the help she could get in order to survive what was coming, even if she had no idea what to expect.

And so, Sunday passed by quietly, or as quietly as it could when you had pranksters who loved the bed-ridden girl, international visitors who had no idea what was going on, a persnickety caretaker with a psychotic cat, and a Headmaster who found the entire chaos amusing. Monday on the other hand, well, let's just say it began with a bang didn't stop there.


	5. Unforgivables

_Notes: I thought this chapter in Canon is important, but only realized it after I posted the chapter on the Selections. So, it is going to incorporate the reactions from some of the other students, as well as address what the visiting students' reactions are and how they're going to be meeting their school requirements regarding their studies – especially Magic School students. Wyatt will be with the Fourth Year Gryffindor students while Melinda and Chris will be with their own age groups, the reason will be explained. The rest of magic school will be with Fourth or Fifth Years as Sixth and Seventh year classes are more NEWT specific and the professors were somewhat reluctant to take on extra students who were new to their magic styles. Bauxbatons and Durmstrang students will be with Seventh Years._

**Chapter 5: Unforgivables**

On Monday afternoon, the castle was shaken with a load scream, emanating from the Hospital Wing. As this was a regular occurrence for the Hogwarts students and staff, they didn't do much aside from wrap up their books/ lessons and head to the Great Hall for lunch or shake their heads in amusement and carry on with their mid-day routine. The visitors on the other hand, already in the Great Hall for lunch before they would once again split up and head to class, were startled by the sound and confused by the reactions from their hosts.

"Don't worry." Draco told the visiting group of startled Durmstrang students that were sitting at the Slytherin table for breakfast. His explanation was being echoed by a few other students and staff members who took the liberty to explain to their American and French visitors. "That was Aurelia Potter-Black. She's likely just been released from the Infirmary and realized that classes resume in half an hour. Since we have Double Defense against the Dark Arts with Professor Moody scheduled for the entire afternoon, it'll take about five minutes to get to his classroom from here, and longer from the Infirmary where she was last night and this morning." He took a sip of his tea before continuing. "Last class, Professor Moody had made it very clear that we would be covering something important and this would be the only time he will be covering the content. It will also be on a test later in the term, and possibly on our exams as well."

The explanation received a few understanding nods as everyone returned to their meals. Sure enough, the fourteen-year-old came barreling through the open doors five minutes later. What was surprising, at least for the visitors, was the fact that the girl was wearing a pair of roller-blades on her feet and she had come rolling in at a rapid speed. She came to a stop at the Gryffindor table, using the table as leverage to pull herself towards it in order to eat the food from the plate Neville had already prepared for her, while reviewing her notes before class started and listening to Parvati and Lavender update her on all the gossip she had missed as well as Hermione telling her everything she missed during classes that morning. She didn't realize that her shades had slipped off her face and were hanging around her neck from the ruby red spectacle cord* that was there for exactly that reason.

At the staff table, Leo and Piper gasped when they saw the blind girl's eyes, or rather the markings* that surrounded her eyes. The two exchanged looks, this was definately the girl that had been with Wyatt when he came back to the past due to a spell Piper and cast and then again with Wyatt and Chris when Wyatt's powers had disappeared because of Billie and Christy. They didn't say anything as their gasps had drawn the attentions of Professor McGonagall.

The stern woman gently put her tea cup down and faced them.

"Don't be alarmed by the markings." She said, misinterpreting the reason for the gasp. "They aren't painful. She received them after a battle with a Basilisk in her second year." The Scottish woman proceeded to give them a brief overview of what had happened that year, from the Petrifications to the student being taken into the Chamber and Aurelia and Ron going down to save her. "She had been bitten by the Basilisk as she stabbed it, along with being sprayed with the venom in her eyes during the fight. The Headmaster's Phoenix, Fawkes, used his tears to heal her, but couldn't completely remove the scars or heal her blindness. The combination of the tears and her magic working in tandem resulted in the scars being turned into the almost tattoo-like markings she now has."

"Oh my God." Piper breathed, her eyes wide, an expression mirrored by her husband. Despite everything her and her sisters had gone through when they became the Charmed Ones, they had still been adults. This girl was 12-years-old when she became blind, and from what they had learned over the weekend, she had also witnessed her parent's murder at the tender age of 1, and spent the year before hearing their final moments as a result of the Dementors that had been stationed around the school due to the escape of Bellatrix LeStrange and Peter Pettigrew from Azkaban Prison. It truly is amazing how much information one could get from teenagers as well as from the newspapers, especially when it was almost as if the girl had no privacy when it came to her own life.

Finishing her lunch with less than 10 minutes to spare, Aurelia quickly changed into her pumps, put her shades back on her face to cover her disconcerting unseeing eyes and magicking her rollerblades back to her dorm-room before leaving the Hall, followed by the rest of her classmates.

The Fourth Years were followed by Wyatt and Chris, who had both decided to join the Fourth Years to learn about Wizarding magic. The rest of their schoolmates followed them out but turned in the other direction, heading to one of the newly assigned classrooms where they would be resuming their own lessons with Leo and Piper, though Melinda followed the Third Years to their class having made the same decision as her brothers. To be able to truly incorporate international cooperation, and especially for all the students to gain the maximum knowledge of both forms of magic, the Headmaster had announced that they all had the option of attending any class held by another school, so long as they had permission from their own professor if they were missing class and they abided by the rules set by the professor teaching the class they were attending. Magic School students had the option to completely join any of Hogwarts' year groups from Year 1 through Year 4 (having to complete any work assigned by the Hogwarts professors like any student), however they would have to remain up to date with their own lessons set by Leo and Piper (which incorporated magical and non-magical classes). They had the week to make their final decision, however based on the textbooks they had read over the weekend, most decided to at least start with the Fourth Years before deciding whether they wanted to go with a lower level if they needed to, or if they wanted to opt out entirely (though they would still have the option of joining the odd class if they so desired).

Reaching the Defense classroom, they quickly sat down in their seats, Wyatt and Chris pairing up and sitting right behind Ron and Aurelia in the second row, while the rest kept the seats they had chosen at the beginning of term. They took their textbooks out, but left them to the side since they knew their professor used a more practical approach to teaching them, using the text only as a form of reference or for any required readings they would need to complete. The chatter which had filled the room as the students entered immediately died as Professor Moody entered the class with the trademark 'Thunk!' of his wooden leg. They all faced him as he stood at the front of the class, leaning back slightly against his table.

"As I told you last week," he began, "we are covering something that the Ministry believes you are too young to learn. Some of you have already been directly affected in some form by what I am going to teach you. Others have heard stories from your parents. Now, today's lesson will be about the Unforgivable Curses."

Neville and Aurelia swallowed, the sound heard in the silent classroom. They were the two who have been directly affected by this particular classification of curses, even if everyone was only aware of Aurelia's background. Wyatt and Chris exchanged looks, not knowing the reason behind the reaction.

"More specifically, who can tell me how many there are?" he continued.

"Three, sir." Hermione answered after a moment when no one made any indication of answering.

"And they are so named?" Moody asked, turning to the chalkboard and starting to write.

"Because they are unforgivable." Hermione continued. "The use of any one of them will-."

"Will earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban, correct." Moody finished, as he completed what he was writing and turning back to the class. They saw that he had written '3 Unforgivables' with the '3' being circled in emphasis. "As I said earlier, the Ministry says you are too young to see what these curses can do. With all due respect to many of those idiot, I say different!" at any other time, his address of Ministry employees would be met with a least a spattering of laughs, however this time, the class was too stunned by the severity of the lesson. "You need to know what you're up against! You need to be prepared! So, which curse shall we see first?" When no one volunteered, he barked, "Weasley!"

"Yes?" Ron jumped.

"Stand." Ron slowly stood up. "Give us a curse."

"Well, my dad did tell me about one once." Ron said, his voice hesitant and soft. "The Imperious Curse."

"Oh, yeah," Moody nodded. "Your father _would_ know all about that one. There was a time when that particular curse gave the Ministry quite a bit of grief. Perhaps this will show you why." He turned back to his desk and removed a large glass jar from the drawer. The jar contained a large, scuttling spider inside. Aurelia felt Ron shudder at the sight of his greatest fear as he remained standing. Removing the lid, Moody reached in and removed the spider and held it in his hand as he pointed his wand at it.

_"Engorgio."_ The spider grew in size, slightly bigger than a tarantula. _"Imperio!"_

Aurelia gasped at the emotions she got, rather _didn't_ get, from the now large spider. Where it had been content to scuttle around before becoming ever so slightly apprehensive at the magic that was used on it, she now could feel nothing from the arachnid.

The spider leapt from Moody's hand on a fine thread of silk and began to swing backward and forward as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rigidly, then did a back flip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and went into what was unmistakably a tap dance.

Everyone was laughing — everyone except Moody, Aurelia, Wyatt and Chris. Moody because he knew what the spell could do and the three students because they could feel the falsity in the emotions and actions, as well as knowing what it was like to be forced to do something against your will.

"Think it's funny, do you?" Moody growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?" The laughter died away almost instantly. "Total control," he said quietly as the spider balled itself up and began to roll over and over. "I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats . . ." Ron gave an involuntary shudder at the thought. "Years back, scores of witches and wizards claimed that they only did You-Know-Who's bidding under the influence of the Imperious Curse. Some were telling the truth, others only claimed such to avoid punishment." he said as he brought the spider back to his hand and lifted the spell and Aurelia knew he was referring to when Voldemort had been all-powerful. Her family had told her as many stories as they possibly could without traumatizing her, especially when she began questioning why she wasn't allowed to do many of the things her friends would often take for granted, like being able to leave school grounds, or even be out after curfew with only detention as a consequence – her consequence had been a long rant and a grounding, sometimes even being forbidden from flying for several days.

"It had been quite the challenge for the Ministry to sort out who was being forced, and who was lying. The curse can be fought, make no mistake, and I'll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character and not everyone has the strength to fight its effects. Not only what the spell is telling you to do, but what it does to make you believe that it's okay to do. Frankly, it's better to avoid being hit with it if you can." He paused for a moment. "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody's sudden shout made everyone jump, everyone except Aurelia who was far too used to sudden yells, as well as Wyatt and Chris for the same reason as well as being used to people popping up in front of them unexpectedly. "Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?"

Many hands went into the air, Neville also raising his, although much slower. Many glanced at the boy in surprise - the only class in which Neville usually volunteered information was Herbology, which was easily his best subject.

"Stand." said Moody, his magical eye rolling right over to fix on Neville. Neville stood up slowly. "Yes?"

"There's one — the Cruciatus Curse," said Neville in a small but distinct voice.

Moody was looking very intently at Neville, this time with both eyes. Aurelia's eyes widened, she knew what that curse had done to Neville.

"The Cruciatus Curse," the roughened man repeated, raising his wand to point at the spider. _"Crucio!"_

As soon as the spell hit, three things occurred. The spider's legs bent in upon its body; it rolled over and began to twitch horribly, rocking from side to side in obvious agony; Aurelia and Wyatt clutched their heads in agony as they both felt the pain the spider was feeling; and Neville flinched with each move the tortured spider made. Still, Moody did not remove his wand or lift the spell. The spider started to shudder and jerk more violently as Wyatt and Aurelia bit their lips to keep from screaming while Chris and Ron put their arms around their pained partners. Neville's knuckles went white as he balled his hands into fists and stared at the shuddering spider with wide and horrified eyes, seeing first-hand what had happened when he was a child as he hadn't been witness to the event as he had been with his Grandmother.

"Stop it!" Hermione finally screamed shrilly as Wyatt and Aurelia's lips broke skin and blood began to drip down their chins. "Can't you see what it's doing to them?! Stop it!"

Moody raised his wand, lifting the curse. The spider's legs relaxed, but it continued to twitch. Wyatt and Aurelia gasped as they lowered their hands and those around them put gentle hands on their shoulders and backs, giving the two teenagers silent support before taking their hands back. Dean helped a frozen Neville sit back down in his chair, keeping a comforting hand on the pure-blood teen, though unaware of the reason behind the torment.

"Pain," Moody said softly as everyone turned back to him, though Chris and Ron kept their hands on Wyatt and Aurelia's arms in silent support. "You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus Curse. . . . That one was very popular once too. As with any form of torture, prolonged exposure can have life-long side effects. With this curse, it can lead to insanity as well as complete mental breakdown, leaving the victims as mere shadows of who they once were. Right . . . anyone know the last one?" he turned to Aurelia, who was holding a handkerchief to her bleeding lip. "Miss Potter-Black?"

Aurelia took a deep breath as she stood up, Ron's hand still on her arm.

"Dad and the others…" she started, her voice no louder than a whisper though it felt as if she was shouting in the absolute silence of the classroom. "They told me about-about the…" her eyes filled with tears as she shook her head, unable to continue as she remembered the green light, the cruel laughter and her birth-parent's final moments.

"The last curse," Moody continued, seeing the girl would be unable to continue. _"Avada Kedavra!"_ There was a flash of blinding green light and a rushing sound, as though a vast, invisible something was soaring through the air — instantaneously the spider rolled over onto its back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead. Several of the students stifled cries; the two white-lighters and Aurelia flinched, feeling the spider die. "The Killing Curse." Aurelia lost the battle against her tears as they streamed down her face in rivers of silver. The class was silent, seeing the effect it had on Aurelia as well as feeling the weight of what they had just been taught. "Not nice," he said calmly, dropping the spider on his desk as he looked at Aurelia who was still crying. A white-faced Ron helped her sit down and held her close while Moody spoke. "Not pleasant. And there's no counter-curse. There's no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it, and she's sitting right in front of me."

Aurelia felt Moody's eyes on her, as well as the rest of the class. There were shocked gasps from many of them, after all, it was one thing to hear about what had happened as stories, and in the recent years from Professor Black during the week of Halloween when he would remind everyone exactly what this peace they now have had cost them all to achieve, but seeing it first-hand (even if it was on a spider) made them truly see what Aurelia had witnessed as a child (and then relived last year because of the Dementors).

"_Avada Kedavra_'s a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it — you could all get your wands out now, point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I'd get so much as a nosebleed." Moody resumed his lecture, bringing the class back to attention. "But that doesn't matter. I'm not here to teach you how to do it. Now, if there's no counter-curse, why am I showing you? _Because you've got to know_. You've got to appreciate what the worst is. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you're facing it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he roared, and this time the entire class jumped, including a still shocked Aurelia, Wyatt and Chris. He lowered his voice once more. "That's what you're up against. That's what I've got to teach you to fight. You need preparing. You need arming. But most of all, you need to practice constant, never-ceasing vigilance. Get out your quills . . . copy this down. . . ."

They spent the rest of the lesson taking notes on each of the Unforgivable Curses. No one spoke until the bell rang - and when Moody dismissed them, everyone congregated around Aurelia, Neville, Wyatt and Chris. Wyatt and Chris were momentarily surprised at being included in the group before they realized that the class had probably noticed the effect the lesson had on them and they gratefully accepted the support.

"Hell of a first lesson with him, huh?" Draco commented softly to the two white-lighters as they slowly walked towards the Great Hall for dinner.

"Yeah." Wyatt replied shakily as the two brothers walked as close to each other as possible with their hands linked so as not to accidentally get parted by the crowd of teens.

The large group had just reached the end of the corridor when they head an odd clunking noise behind them. Turning, they saw Moody limping towards them and parted as he came closer. He stopped in front of Ron and Hermione who were supporting Neville and Aurelia, and Draco who was next to Wyatt and Chris. They all watched the man apprehensively, tightening their grips on each other.

"It's all right, sonny," Moody said to Neville in a lower and gentler voice than the one he had used in class. "Why don't you come up to my office? Come on . . . we can have a cup of tea. . . ."

Neville looked even more frightened at the prospect of tea with Moody. He neither moved nor spoke. Moody turned his magical eye upon Aurelia, Wyatt and Chris.

"You all right, are you, Potter-Black, Halliwell?"

"Yes," Aurelia replied, almost defiant despite the way she was clutching Ron. Her reply was echoed by the two brothers, with the tone as well.

Moody's blue eye quivered slightly in its socket as it surveyed the three of them. After a moment, he said, "You've got to know. It seems harsh, maybe, but you've got to know. No point pretending . . . well . . . come on, Longbottom, I've got some books that might interest you." With that, Moody turned and began walking away.

Neville glanced pleadingly at his classmates, but they didn't say anything, aside from Aurelia reaching out and giving him a gentle nudge in encouragement. With a sigh, Neville turned and followed the ex-Auror back into the classroom as the rest of the group continued to the Great Hall.

As they shuffled into the Hall, Minerva watched the students from where she was sitting at the Head Table. She noticed their uncharacteristically subdued behavior, so similar to the previous year when the Third Years had Trelawney for the first time and she predicted Aurelia's death in the very first lesson. She absently noticed the rest of the teachers doing the same, especially Piper and Leo as they took in the way their sons were clutching each other. With identical frowns on their faces, husband and wife looked at each other before turning back to watch their sons, an action that was mirrored by most of the staff as they watched Aurelia, who had streaks of dried tears on her face.

"What happened in class that caused such a reaction?" Remus pondered out loud. It was taking everything he had not to run down to his cub and pull her trembling frame into a hug and never let go. He was well aware that the rest were feeling the same way, if the grips they had on their utensils was anything to go by.

"I don't know." Sirius growled, his fork bending from the strength of the grip he had on them. "But I'm going to find out."

With that, he stood up and went down to where the Fourth Years had split up and went to their own house tables.

"Prongslet?" Sirius asked softly, coming to a stop behind her and crouching down so he was eye-to eye with her after she turned to face him. "What's wrong?"

"Professor Moody showed us the Unforgivable Curses in class today." Hermione replied, her voice heard throughout the Hall as the chatter died the moment Sirius came to a stop behind Aurelia. It was something the staff so rarely did since she had become an official student that it was a novelty when they did.

"WHAT?!" he roared, his stormy gray eyes flashing with the power of his magic.

Hearing Hermione's response, Remus stood up and hurried over to put a calming hand on Sirius' shoulder even though his own blue eyes were flashing amber in evidence of his wolf nearing the surface in anger, despite the fact that the full moon was still a long way away. Aurelia stood up and put her hand on her father's chest.

"It's okay, Daddy." She said softly. "We needed to know. It just caught me by surprise. It was one thing hearing stories and seeing it in the nightmares, but it's different seeing it in class. I expect seeing it real life will be different as well from what we experienced today."

She spoke calmly and practically. The high emotions that rolled off the two men, and the other adults, slowly simmered down as they stopped thinking as parents and started thinking as teachers. They realized that she had a point, and even though it had been difficult, they did need to know.

Narcissa Malfoy, the school therapist/ psychiatrist, stood up and said to room at large, though aimed her words at the Fourth Years in particular.

"If you need to talk to me, my door is open. What you learned today may not hit you any time soon, but when it does, please know that my door is always open."

She received nods from several students.

"Great." Aurelia said, a touch sarcastic. "As if I'm not already in enough therapy to last a lifetime. Maybe three."

Her comment broke the tension as laughter echoed through the hall and dinner resumed. The rest of the meal passed without incident, though Moody did receive a few glares by many staff members when he arrived, Neville not far behind.

Hermione, in true fashion, took a large tome out of her bag and reading while making notes in a spiral bound notebook with a ballpoint pen. Her action was mimicked by Neville who took out a Potions book and began.

"What are you doing, Nev?" Ron asked, swallowing a mouthful of food.

"Studying for the Potions test we have coming up." He replied absently, not looking up from his text.

"That test is not for another three weeks." Ron pointed out.

"I know. But with my luck, I need to cover my backside from all directions." Neville replied, nibbling on a carrot stick.

"Mione, what are your reading?" Aurelia asked, noticing that the magic in her book was different from their text books.

"I'm doing some research regarding the Tournament and if there is a way to ensure that you would be safe during it." She replied absently, not looking up from the book as she bit on the end of her pen.

Aurelia nodded in understanding as she went back to her food, taking sips from her potion goblet. She felt a tap behind her, and putting her fork down, she turned to face who it was.

"Aurelia?" came Cedric's voice.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm on your side." His voice was strong as he proclaimed his stand on the situation they found themselves in.

Aurelia smiled, her shine coming out a little more brightly as she took in what her friend had to say. She stood up and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you." She said softly, pulling back.

"Yeah, the last time we didn't believe you, it kinda came back to bite us in the butt." Ernie MacMillan commented from his seat at the Hufflepuff table. "Spectacularly."

Aurelia laughed, the sound resembling a tinkle of bells that echoed her joy.

"I didn't blame you then, and I wouldn't blame you now." She said, still shining lightly.

"That's because you're too good a person to hold grudge." Ginny said, pointing at the older with her fork.

"Speak for yourself Weaslette." Draco said from the Slytherin table. "Little Miss Star here held a grudge for three months against me one time."

"We were eight." Aurelia cried out indignantly, leaning around Cedric to look at her cousin. "And you had completely destroyed my Moony, Padfoot, Prongs and Cryo." The four being the stuffed toy versions of Remus, both her fathers, and Severus (who was a black wolf with a silver white stripe running across its back where the name came from). "It took that long for them to be repaired."

"Still, three months." Draco repeated.

"I forgave you as soon as they were repaired, and Grandma gave them back to me." Aurelia reminded him, pouting slightly.

"Okay, you have a point." Draco sighed. "But my point is, that you are fully capable of holding a grudge."

Wyatt, who was watching the interactions like a tennis match along with the rest of the visitors, stood up from where he was sitting at the Hufflepuff table and went over to the blind girl.

"I also want to tell you that I'm on your side." He smiled at her, making her look at him in shock.

"Thank you." She said, before frowning lightly. "But I don't understand why you would. I know you had said that you could tell that I was telling the truth, but we are competing against each other."

"That maybe so, but nothing says we can't be friends, or at least civil."

"True." She laughed.

"Oh my!" Hermione cried out suddenly, making everyone turn to her. She was staring at the book with wide eyes.

"What? What is it?" Ron asked her, startled by the sudden outburst.

"I have to go to the library." She cried out, rapidly shoving her books back into her bag and running out. Aurelia sighed and buttered several pieces of toast and waited. A few seconds later, Hermione came running back in, took the plate of toast and ran back out, yelling her thanks over her shoulder. Sirius and Remus sat at the Gryffindor table to resume their meal, not willing to let Aurelia out of their sight, and if the way many of the other teachers were watching the girl was any indication, they weren't about to either.

Aurelia sighed softly as she felt the watchful eyes on her, she knew very well that there was no way she'd be going anywhere with at least some kind of supervision and this was only because of a Defense class that unsettled them. She did not want to think about what they were going to be like as the date of the First Task approached, which was still some time away thankfully.

"Okay. What was that about?" Piper asked loudly, still staring at the door Hermione had ran out of.

"No idea." Severus replied, taking a sip of his tea.

"And we will not know until she has the results of her search, regardless of whether or not they are favorable." Minerva added, smiling softly as she watched the students mingle with each other as if everything was normal. She could not express how happy she was that her beloved niece was getting support from the other Champions. She voiced her thought after some mild prompting from Albus.

"I am not surprised." He revealed softly, so that only Minerva, Remus, Sirius, Severus, Leo and Piper could hear. "The girl was able to gain the love of Severus." The man in question sneered but didn't argue. "If she could heal his broken heart and gain his love, than she can warm the hearts of anyone."

"I don't really understand the connection between the two." Leo said frowning slightly.

"After her parents died, I was in a really bad place." Severus replied softly. "Lily had been my best friend, indeed she had been my only friend. So when she died, it was as if part of me died as well. Than this little girl comes along and looks at me with the same eyes her mother had and refused to let me wallow in my misery. She persistently went after me, coming into my lab with some of the students, watching as I taught and asking questions. Many times she had helped the students with their potions, stopping mishaps before they occurred." He smiled sadly. "It took some time, but I slowly realized that she may be the child of my childhood rival, she was also the child of my best friend. She helped me find love with the woman who would later become my wife," The plain gold ring on his left-hand glinted in the candlelight. "A woman who had loved me since we were teenagers but I didn't know." He went silent after his admission, lost in the memories as Piper and Leo became aware of how important the young Star was to these people, not as someone powerful, but as their child – the same way their own kids were so important to them.

The students meanwhile, returned to their seats and their meals as they had homework that needed completing as well as classes the next day before leaving the Hall. Neville told them what had occurred between him and Moody, as well as the book he had received from the intimidating teacher, receiving gentle smiles from his friends at the animated manner their usually shy friend was talking. The rest of the meal passed without much incident, aside from the usual banter that floated around, this time interspersed with explanations to the guests. Aurelia, Ron and Neville finished their meals and with a kiss to Remus and Sirius' cheeks from Aurelia, the three friends left the Hall.

They walked in silence to their Tower as they each pondered the assignments they needed to complete for class the next day.

"Is Moody going to get into trouble with the Ministry about showing the Unforgivables?" Neville asked finally, a question he had been pondering for a while. "And Professor Dumbledore as well, for allowing it?"

"Probably." Ron replied nonchalantly. "But Dumbledore's always done things his way and Moody's been getting in trouble for years, if the stories are anything to go by. I mean, he's always been an 'attack first and ask questions later, if ever' kind of person – just look at his dustbins." They reached the Fat Lady that guarded their Common Room entrance. "Balderdash."

The Fat Lady swung open to reveal the entrance hole and the two boys climbed through, into their common room which was crowded and noisy as usual, while Aurelia stayed outside. Noticing the significant absence of the star, they turned to look at her.

"What's wrong Aurelia?" Neville asked, a frown marring his gentle features.

"Why aren't you coming in? We've got homework." Ron added, a similar frown on his face.

"I already finished everything due for the next few days while I was in the Infirmary. It's a nice night, I think I'll go for a night-time fly." Aurelia replied, looking down the corridor. "Maybe go up to the Tower. Everything that has happened, I haven't had the chance to fly and I'm feeling slightly restless. Especially after Professor Moody's class today."

The boys nodded, and with a reminder to let the portraits and the ghosts know where she was, they bid her good night and closed the portrait, sealing off their Common Room.

"You all right, dear?" the Fat Lady asked the young girl as she was about to head back down the hallway.

"Not quite, my lady. But I believe I will be." Aurelia replied honestly as she gave a radiant smile to the friendly portrait, her figure glowing slightly with a soft white light as her heart lightened ever so slightly of its' burdens.

"Very well, dear. Don't stay out too long." The pink-dressed lady reminded the young girl that brought laughter and joy back to the hearts of so many. "and as the boys said, make sure someone knows where you are."

"I will. Good night." Aurelia said, waving.

"Good night dear."

Aurelia turned and walked back down the corridor, heading towards one of the large windows as the portraits that lined the walls followed her movements. Unlocking the latch and opening the window, she smiled as she felt the crisp air against her face, brushing her fringe back. Several Gryffindor students were milling about and looked up when they felt the sudden crisp air.

"Aurelia, what are you doing?" Angelina asked with a frown as the younger girl climbed onto the window ledge.

"I'm going up to the Tower." Aurelia replied with a smile, her back to the open air as she looked at her House-mates with a smile.

"Okay." Angelina replied with a slight shake of her head as Aurelia waved at them and let herself fall backwards out of the window with a loud whoop of joy.

Angelina shook her head and closed the window, locking it once more as she and her friends headed up to their Common Room.

_Links (on pinterest):_

_*Aurelia's spectacle cord - .ca/pin/762234305655185807/_

_*Aurelia's markings - .ca/pin/474566879470336866/_


	6. A Late-Night Flight and Late Night Conve

**A Late-Night Flight and Late Night Conversations**

Wyatt and Chris walked through the corridors, headed towards their parent's rooms when Wyatt noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he hurried to the large window and looked out, his brother following him in confusion.

"Wy, what is it?" Chris asked.

"Look."

The two brothers looked outside and saw a figure falling from one of the higher windows. With wide eyes, they hurriedly unlatched the widow and opened it, Wyatt getting ready to jump out of the window, when the figure grew wings and flew up towards the sky.

The two looked at each other with wide eyes, though for a different reason this time.

"I didn't know anyone in the Wizarding World could fly." Chris said, surprise coloring his voce. "Let alone with wings. I know no-one from our school can fly like that."

"I'm gonna go for a fly." Wyatt told Chris with a smile, climbing onto the window ledge. "Maybe I can find out who that is."

Chris nodded and said, "I'll tell Mom and Dad where you are."

Wyatt nodded and jumped off the windowsill, stopping his rapid descent half-way and levitating himself upwards as he followed the winged figure.

Aurelia let out a laugh as she felt the wind across her face, her wings fluttering behind her as they supported her flight. She flew over the Quidditch Pitch, flying through the golden hoops and down the poles. She flew several laps around the Pitch before settling down to perch inside the middle hoop at the far end of the Pitch.

"I was wondering who it was that had the ability to fly with wings in the Wizarding World, since no-one from Magic School had the ability." A powerful voice said from behind her, startling her slightly.

She turned and saw Wyatt hovering in the air directly behind her, a smile on his face as he gazed at her.

"A side-effect from my Second Year." Aurelia replied softly, turning around completely face him as he floated over to perch on the hoop next to her.

"You fought a Basilisk." He said. "I heard the story from my parents."

"Where did they hear the story?" Aurelia asked, wanting to know if their source was reliable or if it was nonsense.

"Professor McGonagall. She told them at lunch when they saw your eyes after your glasses slipped."

Aurelia nodded. She understood why Aunt Minerva would have told them. They would've been taken aback by the sight of her markings and she would have told the couple to reassure them that it wasn't painful or alarming.

"And you?" she asked, turning to face him as she removed her glasses and banished them back to her dorm-room. "How did you learn to fly?"

"I've got the power of Levitation, so technically, I'm not flying I'm levitating." Wyatt replied.

Aurelia nodded in response as they fell into a comfortable silence for a while, listening as the wind rustled the grass and the night-time insects buzzed about. Their hair and clothes swaying in the wind.

"I'm going up to the Tower, you want to come with me or do you want to go inside?" Aurelia asked, breaking the comfortable silence as she pushed of the hoop and hovered in front of him.

"I'm guessing you don't mean Gryffindor Tower." Wyatt stated.

Aurelia shook her head and smiled, waving at him to join her as she flew up and turned towards the school. Wyatt followed her with a smile, wondering where she was leading him.

They had no idea that several magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest were watching the young Star and the young King as they flew across the grounds towards the majestic castle.

"Aurelia, where are we going?" Wyatt asked loudly, over the rushing wind.

"Come on. It's not too far." Aurelia replied just as loudly, feeling free for the first time in so long.

Sure enough, they reached the tallest Tower of the castle and flew up to the window.

"Alohomora." Aurelia whispered, waving her hand at the window and causing the latch to unlock. She opened the window and flew inside, retracting her wings as she held the window open for Wyatt to enter before closing and locking it once more. She turned to him. "This is one of the places I come to think, or just get away, when everything gets too much to handle." The two took one of the blankets that had been neatly folded in a corner and spread it on the slightly dusty ground before sitting and leaning back against the stone wall. "Somehow, I get the feeling you know exactly what I mean." She looked up at him as she removed her heels and crossed her ankles, her movement mirrored by Wyatt as he removed his own shoes and stretched his longer legs out beside her, crossing his ankles. When he didn't say anything, Aurelia continued, "Hermione, the brunette that ran out of the Hall at dinner today, mentioned that you were the Twice-Blessed Child and that your mother is one of the Charmed Ones." She paused and looked up at him. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. In fact, you can tell me to change the subject and we can talk about something else, or just sit in silence, if you want." She wanted to give him the option because she had always hated it when people hounded her for answers when she wasn't ready to give them or even had any answers in the first place.

"I was born on the day that magic died." Wyatt said after a long moment of silence. "it was believed that whichever side I was raised by, I would be the most powerful force for that side, be it good or evil. Because of this, after I was born, there were several kidnapping attempts made on me until a law was passed to prevent it. Though it didn't stop someone my parents trusted from trying to kill me, which would've sent me down the path of evil, if I hadn't been saved by my father." As he spoke, Aurelia took his hand in her much smaller one and interlocked their fingers, giving him silent support. "Because of us being so powerful as well as being the children of the Charmed Ones, my parents were very protective of us kids, especially me, because of how powerful I am and the number of times people had tried to kidnap me." he gave a soft sigh as he let his head rest back against the stone wall and look up through the glass ceiling at the night sky. "I love my family, I really do, but sometimes they're just constantly in my business and never letting me have a moment to myself that it feels like I'm being smothered."

"I know the feeling." Aurelia said softly, leaning her head back and facing the ceiling as well, though she couldn't see the sky. "Although with me, it's a pseudo-family rather than a blood-related family." They both chuckled lightly. "Sometimes you just want to yell at them to give you a moment, or even just a second, to yourself so you could breathe without someone asking you if you're all right. I mean, you know why they do what they do, you understand it, but at the same time, you just want to be like everyone else."

"Exactly! My mom and my aunts are still constantly doing the whole 'embarrass the kids at every possible moment' and it drives me crazy. Not just me, but all of us kids."

"How many of you are there?"

"My parents have three kids, myself, Chris and Melinda and my aunts and uncles have three each. Aunt Phoebe has three girl and Aunt Paige has twin girls and a boy. You?"

"Only child. Though Ron's family have basically adopted me, and Dad and my Uncles have blood-adopted me so I am biologically their child as well. So, I guess you could say that I have 6 brothers and 1 sister from the Weasleys, and then all the cousins from being a pure-blood on my birth father's side as well as my father and Uncles."

"Wow, and I thought my family was big." Wyatt chuckled lightly. His voice took on a somber tone as he asked, "Do you ever feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders?"

"All the time." Aurelia replied softly. She turned to him and asked, "I take you know the feeling?"

"Extremely well." He replied, slightly bitterly. "I am the King of all Magic and I wield Excalibur. I am the first child to be born to a Witch and a White-lighter ever, which is also why people always tried to kidnap me and why my family is so protective of us."

"As you learned in Professor Moody's class today, I am the only one to survive the Killing Curse, and that too was because of my mother who refused to step aside and pleaded with Voldemort to kill her instead of me." Aurelia let out frustrated sigh. "What frustrates me the most is that my survival had nothing to do with anything I did, rather it was my mother refusing to stand aside and let a psychopath kill her daughter."

"Yeah. It so irritating when people think you were the one to do something when it was really someone who loved you more than life itself and when you try to tell them that they refuse to listen to you."

"I know! Sometimes, I feel like yelling it at the top of my lungs whenever anyone asks about that night, or even what had happened over the past three years. It drives me nuts!"

"What happened over the past three years?" Wyatt was curious, he had only heard the basics and what was in the newspapers, not from the person who had experienced it first-hand.

Aurelia let out a deep breath and proceeded to tell him what had happened over the past three years. In first year there was the Philosopher's Stone being brought to the school for safekeeping and then saving it from being stolen as well as facing Voldemort for the second time, second year was the Chamber of Secrets being opened as well as the battle with the Basilisk, facing a teenage Voldemort for the third time and going blind, and finally the previous year when Bellatrix LeStrange and Peter Pettigrew had escaped from Azkaban Prison, the Dementors that were posted around the school and nearly being Kissed by them at the end of the year after being kidnapped from within the school by Pettigrew and LeStrange.

"And this entire summer, they refused to let me out of their sight! All of them!" Aurelia exclaimed. "I mean, I understand why, I_ had_ been kidnapped from right under their noses, but even now, I always have to let someone know where I am, be it a ghost, a portrait, a student or a staff member. The only time they let me out of their sight was at the Quidditch World Cup, which they weren't about to let me attend but finally relented after I spent most of the month begging them." Aurelia frowned slightly. "Though it was attacked by Death Eaters afterwards, so the over-protectiveness went up several notches. Though, this time it went both ways with how close I came to losing them." Her voice took on a dark tone as she added, "I ever end up in the same place as any of those Death Eater and I am seriously going to smack them."

Wyatt squeezed her hand gently in silent support as they fell silent.

"You know," he said after a moment, amusement in his tone. "there was this one time, I was so terrified by the idea of losing my parents that I shrunk them and out them in a doll-sized version of our home."

Aurelia faced him with wide unseeing eyes as she felt his honesty. She burst out laughing with Wyatt joining in after a few seconds.

"I wanted to ask," Wyatt said after they stopped laughing and got their breathing under control. "what are Moony, Padfoot, Prongs and Cryo? Those toys that were damaged and you held a three-month long grudge against Draco for?"

"My stuffed animals." Aurelia replied. "Moony is a dark brown wolf, Cryo is a black wolf with a silver-white stripe along its back, Padfoot is a black dog and Prongs is a silver-white stag."

"Stuffed animals." Wyatt repeated, slightly incredulous. "You held a three-month long grudge because your cousin damaged your stuffed animals."

"I was eight!" she cried out indignantly. "Besides, I love those stuffed animals."

"Hey, I'm not judging." Wyatt said with a laugh as Aurelia hit him lightly on the leg. "I had a stuffed teddy bear when I was young, Wuvey."

"Wuvey?"

"Wuvey. And there was this demon that cursed it when I was two and a future version of me, that had been sent back to the past because of a spell my mother cast, turned evil right in front of my parents. My father was able to save me and break the curse, but I do know the attachment someone can have to toys."

"There was this one time, I was around 6, I made the four stuffed animals become real because I wanted to play outside during a full moon but I wasn't allowed." Aurelia admitted.

"It was my 3rd birthday party, I made three of my toys become real to help me find my father after he had been taken by the Angel of Destiny."

"Why was your father taken by the Angel of Destiny?"

"He was supposed to have died in order to motivate my mother to fight in their Final Battle, but she made a deal with the Angel of Destiny for him to be frozen instead. So that when the Battle was ended, she would be reunited with him."

"Wow." Aurelia breathed in wonder as they fell silent once again.

A short while later, Aurelia asked him about his family and their inability to distinguish between hugging and smothering, leading them to talk about their families and friends and all the drama that came with having big families.

And so, the hours slipped by with out them realizing it until they fell asleep in the Astronomy Tower, Wyatt with his arm around Aurelia as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

Meanwhile, in the Guest Quarters, Leo and Piper were having a conversation of their own after Chris told them that Wyatt had gone out for a late-night flight. Their students were all in bed in their assigned dormitories so Piper had called Phoebe, Paige, Henry and Coop to the school.

"I'm telling you, those were the exact same markings!" Piper said adamantly to the adults of her family as she paced the length of their Lounge Room.

"Regardless, Piper, we have no idea if it was the same girl." Leo told his pacing wife gently, seated on the sofa with a glass of wine.

They were talking about Aurelia and the possibility that she could be the girl that had come to the past with their son.

"Leo's right, Piper." Phoebe said, perched on the arm of the single her husband was sitting in, with his arm around her slim waist. "Any number of people could have those same markings."

"Actually, no there isn't." Piper disagreed, turning to them. "I asked McGonagall after dinner and she said that no one in the world has the same markings as Aurelia does."

"There is also the fact that you said she had the same appearance, albite several years younger." Paige pointed out, seated on another single leaning against her husband who was perched on the arm with his arm around her shoulder.

"Okay, you have a good point, but what are we supposed to do? Tell the two of them that they are going to fall in love and be the most powerful couple the world has ever seen?" Leo asked, only slightly sarcastic, as he looked at his family.

"Absolutely not." Coop said strongly. At their looks at his strong opinion, he continued, "If our theory is right, and she is the one who came back with Wyatt, than this is the most crucial time in their relationship. The last thing any of us want to do is make things difficult for them, when they already have so much on their plates with this Tournament, particularly Aurelia."

His explanation received nods of understanding and agreement. Relationships were hard enough without the added pressure of essentially having the fate of the world hang on its success.

With the agreements all around, they said their good-nights before Paige and Coop transported themselves and their spouses back to the US while Leo and Piper went to bed, none of them realizing that the topics of their conversation were high in a Tower taking the first steps towards a legendary love that began with a simple friendship built on shared experiences and struggles.


	7. Chapter 7

_Notes: __I have made mention in the previous chapter that when Wyatt is in the past (Season 7 when Piper's spell backfires and Season 8 when Wyatt loses his powers and the two brothers come to the past). I want to know if you would want me to post those chapters/ stories as a separate story or as interludes in this story. If you want it to be in the story, they won't be posted until after I've posted a few chapters._

_Also, I would like to point out that I am writing these stories as a form of therapy to deal with a major trauma. I appreciate constructive criticism and any ideas you would like to suggest, but if you don't like what I write, then please don't flame or bash me. Don't read the stories if you don't like them._

**Chapter 7**

Wyatt groaned as he felt the suns' golden rays on his face, gently and firmly urging his return to consciousness. With a frown, he opened his eyes, groaning slightly at the cool air and the slight weight leaning against him. Looking to his side, he saw Aurelia sleeping with her head on his chest and his arm around her, both of them having shifted during the night until they were lying flat on the blanket rather than sitting up against the wall.

He glanced at his watch and his eyes widened as he swore.

"Lia. Lia. Wake-up. It's already 7:30." Wyatt said as he shook the younger girl. He had taken to calling her that half way through their conversation the previous night and it had just stuck.

Her eyes snapped open as she looked at him with her unseeing eyes.

"You're sure?" she asked, sitting up and stretching.

"Yeah. We have to get to our rooms and change before going down to breakfast and hoping no-one misses us."

"Though knowing our luck, they'll know we hadn't come to bed nor that we had returned to our rooms last night." Aurelia muttered as she stood up.

Once they had changed into fresh clothes, Aurelia having called and asked Kreacher to get them their clothes, and her shades, from their rooms, they left the Tower, resuming their conversation from the night before. They flew down to a window on the first floor, and after using_ Alohomora_ to open it, they went in and Wyatt closed the window as Aurelia retracted her wings.

"This one time I scared away my mothers' dates by manipulating the orbs to appear around my eyes." Wyatt said as they continued their way to the Great Hall for breakfast, completely unaware of the stares and gawks they were receiving from the few students that were in the corridors.

Aurelia burst out laughing, her peals of musical laughter echoed through the corridor, mixed with Wyatt's own deeper peals.

"How did your mother react when she found out?" she asked once she had stopped laughing.

"She asked, 'Did your father teach you to do that?'" he replied with a laugh as they entered the Great Hall, causing everyone present to stop and stare at the pair. Aurelia laughed again, turning to the Gryffindor table, Wyatt following her. "What about you? Any crazy things you did to scare away potential dates?"

"Not really." Aurelia admitted as they sat down and began filling their plates, nodding in greeting to their shocked friends and classmates (not that they were aware of the shock or that they were the cause) before beginning to eat at a relatively quick pace. "When Dad finally started dating again, we came to an agreement that I wouldn't officially meet any of them unless he felt that there is the possibility of a future with that person. The same was with Uncle Remus and Uncle Severus, at least for the short time that Uncle Severus dated other people before he began dating Aunt Emmaline. Although, it was mostly because the excitement and drama over my being the Girl-Who-Lived was at an all-time high."

"I take it that it wasn't very long after Halloween?" Wyatt asked, being sensitive to the topic as she understood what he was talking about.

"A few years, I was about 5 or so." Aurelia confirmed as they finished eating and stood up. "What class do you have right now?"

"Care of Magical Creatures." Wyatt replied.

"Okay, you have dragon-hide gloves?"

"Yes."

"Good. You're very likely going to need them." Aurelia said seriously.

"Why?" he asked, slightly worried.

"Blast-Ended Skrewts." Ron said from the table, having regained his bearings like the rest of the school and resumed finishing his meal.

"Huh?" this came from Chris, who was sitting beside Ginny, Cedric and Luna at the Hufflepuff table.

"They're sort off like a cross between giant scorpions and elongated crabs." Aurelia explained as best she could, since she's never actually _seen_ them and had to go on the explanations of her classmates.

"Giant scorpions and elongated crabs." Wyatt repeated disbelievingly, earning a nod from Aurelia and the other Fourth Years. "Really, Lia?"

"Yup." Aurelia replied cheerfully, nodding her head as she grabbed his hand and they walked out of the Hall, now followed by the other Fourth Years as well as Chris.

Up at the Staff Table, Leo and Piper exchanged looks when they heard what their son had called Aurelia. If there had been any doubt in their minds the night before, there definitely wasn't any now; the markings on her face, being a Star, looking like a younger version of the woman that they had met, and now the nickname, made them absolutely certain that this was the girl that would fall in love with and marry their son. When the two had entered, talking and laughing, the entire staff – guests and hosts alike – where shocked speechless just as the students. It wasn't the fact that they were talking, since they had already expressed a desire to be friends, it was the way the young girl was shining. She was shining so brightly, she had nearly blinded half the Hall, though Wyatt had been completely unaware of it as they continued their conversation.

Albus gave a serene smile as he watched his grand-daughter lead her year-mates out of the Hall to their class with Hagrid. He had been just as surprised as the rest when Wyatt and Aurelia entered together, how brightly the girl was shining and the way they both seemed completely unaware of it, as well as the massive shock they had delivered to everyone. When he had heard what Wyatt had called her, he raised an eyebrow in surprise, a move mirrored by the rest of the Hogwarts staff. In much the same way that Nymphadora Tonks refused to allow anyone but Remus to call her by her first name (not even her parents), Aurelia had made it well known from a very early age that she would not accept anyone shortening her name, she didn't mind the nicknames they had for her, but she would not accept any change to the name her birth parents had given her. In fact, she would become quite frightening towards anyone who would attempt it. The mere fact that she allowed this young man to shorten her name and use it freely was quite telling in itself, even if neither were aware of it, the same way that Remus was unaware of the reason Tonks would allow him to use her full first name.

When the Fourth Years, plus Wyatt and Chris, reached Hagrid's cabin, they found the large gentle man already waiting for them with the large crates. There was a collective groan from the class as they caught the sounds of the scuttling from within the crates as Wyatt and Chris eyed them nervously.

"Right, everyone. Gather roun'. Gather roun'." Hagrid called to the large group, who reluctantly moved slightly closer as he began to explain that the reason the skrewts had been killing one another was an excess of pent-up energy, and that the solution would be for each student to fix a leash on a skrewt and take it for a short walk.

"Take them for a walk." Draco repeated disbelievingly before turning to Aurelia and pleaded. "Aurelia please use your Song on them. Please, please, please." By the end, he looked ready to go on his knees and beg, an expression mirrored by the rest of the class.

"I already tried, remember? When we were first introduced to them and then again a few weeks ago." Aurelia reminded them patiently. "They are immune to my Song."

"That's what I don't get." Ernie said, making everyone turn to him. "Why doesn't it work on the skrewts?"

"It didn't work on the Dementors, either." Pansy Parkinson, a Fourth Year Slytherin, pointed out.

"Thanks for the vivid reminder, Parkinson." Aurelia said with a shudder as Wyatt out an arm around her shoulder.

If she hadn't managed to cast her Patronus in the nick of time, she would've been Kissed by the Dementors back in June, a thought that still gave her nightmares on occasion.

"Song?" Chris asked his brother as several students glared at Pansy who shrugged apologetically.

"It's similar to a Siren's Song that works on married males, but this is something that works on magical creatures." Wyatt replied softly. "It doesn't lure them or anything the way a Siren's Song would, rather it would calm and sooth them."

Chris nodded in understanding as Draco reluctantly turned back to Hagrid.

"Where exactly are we supposed to fix the leash? Around the sting, the blasting end, or the sucker?" the pure-blood asked, only half sarcastic.

"Roun' the middle." Hagrid replied as he demonstrated, missing the sarcasm. "Er — yeh might want ter put on yer dragon-hide gloves, jus' as an extra precaution, like. Aurelia — you come here an' help me with this big one. . . ."

Aurelia nodded as she joined Hagrid and helped him, though his real intention was to talk to her away from the rest of the class. He waited until everyone had set off with their skrewts, some pairing up with each other, then turned to her and said, very seriously, "So — yer competin', Aurelia. In the tournament. School Champion."

"One of the school Champions." Aurelia corrected, standing gracefully on a mid-sized pole so she could be at the same height as the towering man.

Hagrid looked at the tiny young girl, radiating the anxiousness his beetle-black eyes were expressing under his wild eyebrows.

"No idea who put yer in fer it?"

"You believe I didn't do it?" Aurelia asked, managing with difficulty to conceal the rush of gratitude she felt at her oldest friends' words. What mattered the most to her was not that the school believed her, but rather that those she loved believed her.

"'Course I do," Hagrid grunted. "Yeh say it wasn' you, an' I believe yeh — an' Dumbledore believes yer, an' all. An' yer a terrible liar."

His last sentence earned him a laugh before the girl sobered up and gazed off in the distance, listening to the songs of the birds and the winds as they passed her by.

"I wish I knew who did do it." She said softly after a few moments, her voice slightly bitter.

Hagrid didn't say anything, knowing he wouldn't be able to any more for the precious girl than he already was – believing her and believing in her. Instead, he looked out over the lawn as Aurelia listened to the sounds of the class; they were widely scattered now, and all in great difficulty. The skrewts were now over three feet long, and extremely powerful. No longer shell-less and colorless, they had developed a kind of thick, grayish, shiny armor. Like Aurelia had told Wyatt after breakfast, they looked like a cross between giant scorpions and elongated crabs — but still without recognizable heads or eyes. They had become immensely strong and very hard to control.

"Seem like they're havin' fun, don' they?" Hagrid said happily. Aurelia assumed he was talking about the skrewts, because if the cries of frustration and the swearing was anything to go by, her classmates certainly weren't; every now and then, with an alarming bang, one of the skrewts' ends would explode, causing it to shoot forward several yards, and more than one person was being dragged along on their stomach, trying desperately to get back on their feet.

"Ah, I don' know, Aurelia," Hagrid sighed suddenly after several minutes of silence, looking back at the young girl standing on the wooden pole with a worried expression on his face. "School champion . . . everythin' seems ter happen ter you, doesn' it?"

Aurelia didn't answer as the class slowly made their way back to them, many in desperate need of salves for bruising and a few even needing for minor burns. Once the skrewts were back in their crates, Wyatt and Chris healed everyone and each other. Aurelia jumped off the pole, landing elegantly on her feet, and they made their way back up to the castle for their next class with waves back at Hagrid.


	8. The Weighing of the Wands

**The Weighing of the Wands**

For Aurelia, the next few days seemed to fly past and at the same time creep by at a snails' pace. What made the days go by fast were her conversations with Wyatt as they got to know each other as friends and her morning runs and swim laps that had resumed a few days after the Selections; yet what made the days seem to creep by was the constant tension about the Tournament and the fact that she was entered without her consent – though the upside was that everyone believed her, and aside from a few mocking comments here and there to keep the rivalries going, there wasn't the same hostility there had been in her Second Year during those months when a large part of the school had suspected her of attacking her fellow students and friends.

Another thing that seemed to make the days go by slowly was the constant worry from those taking Divination with Professor Trelawny – particularly the Gryffindors – as she had taken to predicting the girl's death several times in each lesson with each year group, terrifying them and causing the girl in question to spend several minutes calming everyone down. There was also the fact that Aurelia's emotions were affecting her ability to concentrate during class, causing her to over-charge her spells.

One such occurrence was in Charms class with Uncle Filius two weeks after the Selections, when they had been learning the Summoning Charm. She had managed to summon the items to her, though they kept smacking her in the face. At first, it had been amusing to everyone, even her (after she had taken off her shades and moved from Summoning the board eraser and lunascopes to the cushions and parchments that were lying around) until after the fiftieth attempt resulted in her getting smacked in the face. After that attempt, Wyatt, who had been sitting beside her and using his Remote Orbing ability to complete the assignment, had taken to orbing the objects away from her face before they could hit her, much to her appreciation.

Finally, Uncle Filius called to her in his high squeaky voice, "Aurelia, you have been able to cast a perfect Summoning charm since you were 10, and had been summoning things to you from across the castle with accidental magic since you were a baby, what is the matter now?"

"I don't know, Uncle Filius." Aurelia said, her shoulders slumping as everyone adamantly tried to not listen, which they were completely failing at. "I just can't seem to concentrate to get the spell to stop when I want it to."

"Well, that is what you will need to practice for your homework, at least until you manage to cast it without hitting yourself in the face." He said to her before turning to the class, "Very good everyone. Class dismissed. Mr. Longbottom, you will need to practice the charm as well. Though I would suggest to both you and Aurelia to practice with cushions, just to be on the safe side."

His comment earned a few laughs as the class left the classroom, headed towards the Great Hall for lunch.

Lunch was a rowdy affair as it always was, though several Fourth Years -particularly Neville- could be seen with Potions textbooks out as they reviewed their recipes for the potions they would be covering in class. Wyatt was among those few.

"What are you reading?" Ron asked the blond white-lighter, swallowing a bite of food and taking another.

"Potions textbook." Wyatt replied, not looking away from his book. "The recipe for today's class."

"What for? It's going to be your first lesson." Ron replied with a frown. This would be first class he would be attending since the previous Potions lessons over the past two weeks he had been attending his Magic School lessons.

Ron turned to Aurelia and asked in a whisper, "You don't think Snape is going to be his usual charming self, do you?"

"I don't believe so. He knows we're already under enough stress as it is and that it is their first class with him. He might just be strict like he usually is, but then again, we _are_ dealing with incredibly dangerous ingredients and can have disastrous consequences if not handled properly."

"Anyway, Wyatt completely sucks at making potions." Melinda piped up from where she was sitting with Ginny and several other Third Years. "He also sucks at cooking. Basically, anything that involves mixing ingredients, in any way, leads to spectacular results. And not the ones you want."

"I'm not _that_ bad." Wyatt defended himself feebly, though he knew Melinda was right.

"You nearly blew up the kitchen." Chris called from the Hufflepuff table where he was sitting with some of the Fourth-Year badgers and his own Magic School friends. "The only thing that prevented it was you putting a shield around the stove."

"At least I never gave anyone food poisoning like when you tried to cook." Wyatt retorted, turning in his seat so that he could look at his brother as Melinda watched with a smirk on her face and several students looked back and forth between the two brothers as if it were a tennis match.

"That was one time!" Chris exclaimed.

"So was me nearly blowing up the kitchen!"

"That's because Mom never let you go back into the kitchen or near the potions." Chris pointed out.

Melinda, watching the two with a wide smirk, yelled up to the Staff table, "Mom, Chris and Wyatt are arguing again."

The two boys whirled around to face her, and seeing the smug grin on her face, groaned as Piper yelled down at the boys, not moving from her chair or looking at them, "Boys, cut out the arguing!"

"Mel started it!" the two brothers yelled back.

"I don't care, I'm ending it!" Piper yelled before returning to her plate and the conversation with Emmaline Snape nee Vance, Severus' wife.

At the matching sulking pouts on the two boys faces, the students all roared with laughter as Ginny turned to the brunette girl with awe in her eyes.

"Please teach me how to do that." The red-head pleaded with the brunette.

"Please don't teach her how to do that." Fred, George and Ron pleaded with the brunette.

Melinda looked between the three pleading red-head boys and the pleading red-head girl before smiling.

"All you have to do is…" with that, Melinda proceeded to explain to Ginny, in detail, exactly how to get the reaction she had got as well as cautioning the red-head that it may take a trial-and-error period.

During the course of the explanation, Fred, George and Ron's expressions got progressively more horrified until they were all but pleading with Melinda to stop her explanation and silently promising to never get on their already terrifying sister's bad side.

"And here I thought her Bat-Bogey Hex was something to be feared." Ron said, looking decidedly ashen-faced, as the twins voiced their agreement, looking the same.

As the students laughed at the poor brothers' misfortune, up at the staff table Emmaline said to Piper, "You do know your daughter did that on purpose, yeah?"

"Oh, yeah. I know." Piper replied with a smile.

"And it seems she is teaching young Miss. Weasley how to do the same." Albus commented, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice. "And the Weasley boys don't seem very happy with the idea."

"Can you blame them?" Sirius asked, "That young girl managed to reveal something her brothers did from the same task - or at least similar tasks, caused them to begin arguing and then get yelled at by their mother. In front of not only their own schoolmates, but three other schools as well."

"She would make an excellent Slytherin." Severus commented as he watched the students, particularly Aurelia to make sure she was drinking her potion.

"Even I will admit to that." Minerva said with the look of someone who had forcibly swallowed something bitter.

Her expression earned several chuckles as the students and staff cleaned their plates and stood up, making their way to their classrooms for their afternoon classes.

When the large group of Fourth Years arrived in the dungeon, the classroom door was still closed meaning their professor hadn't arrived yet. They waited for Severus, talking with each other while Neville and Wyatt continued reading their notes. They didn't have to wait long before Severus arrived, his black teacher's robes billowing around his ankles as he walked. The students parted for him and he opened the door with a wave of his wand, allowing the students to enter.

As they went to their seats, Ron and Aurelia pairing up while Hermione paired up with Neville and Chris paired up with Wyatt, Severus called out, "Halliwell, since you are both new to my class, and may find this method of potion-making different to what you've learned, you will be switching partners." The boys in question looked at the professor before looking at each other and shrugging, grabbing their bags and standing up. "Wyatt Halliwell, you will be paired with Miss. Potter-Black and Chris Halliwell, you will be paired with Draco." Seeing that Ron and Aurelia had already been partnered as well as Draco and Theodore Nott, Severus added, "Weasley, Nott, the two of you will be paired up."

Ron groaned quietly as he moved to sit with the Slytherin as Draco moved to sit with Chris and Wyatt moved to sit with Aurelia. Despite the friendships, or at least minimized animosity, between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins, Ron was still a Weasley and was often looked down upon for being poor, especially by the wealthy pure-bloods of Slytherin House, regardless of his own pure-blood status.

"Antidotes!" Severus said when they had settled down several seconds later, looking around at them all, his black eyes glittering. "You should all have prepared your recipes now. I want you to brew them carefully, and then, we will be selecting someone on whom to test one…."

A knock on the dungeon door interrupted the lecture, making all of them turn to look at the door as Severus opened it with a wave of his wand.

It was Colin Creevey; he gulped slightly when he saw the dangerous glare on the Potions Master's face, who had a stern rule about not interrupting his class while it was in session, before his customary grin returned to his face.

"Yes, Mr. Creevey?" Severus asked curtly, looking down at the hyper-active blond.

"Please, sir, I'm supposed to take Aurelia and Wyatt Halliwell upstairs."

Severus stared down his nose at Colin, whose smile faded from his eager face.

"Potter-Black and Halliwell have another hour of Potions to complete," said Snape coldly. "They will come upstairs when this class is finished."

Colin went pink.

"Sir — sir, Mr. Bagman wants them," he said nervously. "All the Champions have got to go, I think they want to take photographs…"

When Colin mentioned photographs, Aurelia groaned loudly and silently pleaded with every deity she could think of for Uncle Severus to not allow her to leave the class. Several students were able to hide their laughter at the Star's reaction, knowing full well that she hated being photographed when she wasn't in concert or on the ice. She tolerated Colin's fascination because he was her friend and was honestly like an over-active younger brother.

"Very well, very well," Severus snapped, silently vowing to speak with Albus about the disruptions to his class. "Potter-Black, Halliwell, leave your things here, I want you both back down here later to test your antidote."

"Please, sir — they've got to take their things with them," squeaked Colin. "All the Champions —"

"Very well!" said Snape. "Potter-Black, Halliwell — take your bags and go. Be sure to return here this evening to complete the assignment and test the antidote or it will result in a fail."

The two Champions nodded as they turned off the flame beneath their cauldrons, cleared their table and swung their bags over their shoulders before leaving the classroom.

"What do they want the photos for? Do you know?" Wyatt asked once they left the dungeons.

"The_ Daily Prophet_, I think!"

"Great, just great. Just what I need from this mess, more publicity." Aurelia groaned irritated. "Just once, just once, I'd like for these people to see me as more than just the Girl-Who-Lived. Is that too much to ask for? I mean, I am an internationally acclaimed singer, model, dancer and figure-skater. But does anyone in the Wizarding World see that? No. They just see me as the poor little orphan girl." She was rapidly building up towards a rant as Colin put his arm around the older girl's shoulder, a few inches taller than her since hitting his first growth spurt over the summer.

Wyatt just stayed quiet as they walked. When they reached the right door, Colin let go of Aurelia.

"Good luck! See you at dinner!" he called over his shoulder as he walked back to his own class.

"If we survive Uncle Sev's lesson!" Aurelia called back as Wyatt knocked on the door and they entered, closing the door behind them.

They were in a fairly small classroom; most of the desks had been pushed away to the back of the room, leaving a large space in the middle; three of them, however, had been placed end-to-end in front of the blackboard and covered with a long length of velvet. Six chairs had been set behind the velvet-covered desks, and Ludo Bagman was sitting in one of them, talking to Rita Skeeter, who was wearing magenta robes. Her hair was set in elaborate and curiously rigid curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face. She wore jeweled spectacles. The thick fingers clutching her crocodile-skin handbag ended in two-inch nails, painted crimson.

Viktor Krum was standing moodily in a corner as usual and not talking to anybody. Cedric and Fleur were in conversation. Fleur felt a good deal happier than Aurelia had sensed so far; she kept throwing back her head so that her long silvery hair caught the light. A paunchy man, holding a large black camera that was smoking slightly, was watching Fleur out of the corner of his eye. Bagman suddenly spotted Aurelia and Wyatt, got up quickly, and bounded forward.

"Ah, here they are! Champions number Four and Five! In you come, Aurelia, Wyatt, in you come . . . nothing to worry about, it's just the Wand Weighing Ceremony, the rest of the judges will be here in a moment —"

"Right. They have to check that our wands are fully functional, no problems, as they're our most important tools in the tasks ahead." Aurelia said, explaining her understanding.

"Precisely," Bagman said cheerfully, slightly surprised that Aurelia knew that. "The expert's upstairs now with Dumbledore. And then there's going to be a little photo shoot. This is Rita Skeeter," he added, gesturing toward the reporter for Wyatt's sake. "She's doing a small piece on the tournament for the Daily Prophet…"

"Maybe not that small, Ludo," Skeeter said, her eyes on the Star and the King. "I wonder if I could have a little word with Aurelia before we start?" she said to Bagman, but still gazing fixedly on the two new arrivals, especially the Star. "The youngest Champion, you know . . . to add a bit of color?"

"Certainly!" Bagman cried. "That is — if Aurelia has no objection?" he turned to the girl, a wide grin on his face.

Cedric, who had wrapped up his conversation with the French student and made his way over when he saw the pair, opened his mouth to speak.

"Unfortunately, I do have objections, Mr. Bagman." Aurelia said with a gentle smile before Cedric could say anything. "As Ms. Skeeter is already aware, any and all interviews are to be conducted through my publicist and with consent from at least two of my parental guardians. I highly doubt that stipulation has changed with this Tournament." She turned to the reporter and said with complete sincerity, "I am sorry, Ms. Skeeter."

Before the reporter could say anything in response, Albus entered, followed by the rest of the judges, Piper, Sirius and Remus.

"Dumbledore!" Skeeter exclaimed with every appearance of delight – though Wyatt noticed that she has clutching her crocodile-skin handbag tightly with her clawed fingers. "How are you?" she held out a hand to the older wizard. "I hope you saw my piece over the summer about the International Confederation of Wizards' Conference?"

"Enchantingly nasty," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling as the other five judges entered the room and took their seats. "I particularly enjoyed your description of me as an obsolete dingbat."

Rita Skeeter didn't look remotely abashed.

"I was just making the point that some of your ideas are a little old-fashioned, Dumbledore, and that many wizards in the street —"

"I will be delighted to hear the reasoning behind the rudeness, Rita," said Dumbledore, with a courteous bow and a smile, "but I'm afraid we will have to discuss the matter later. The Weighing of the Wands is about to start, and it cannot take place if you are hounding one of our Champions for an exclusive, which I am certain she has already reminded you of the agreement made with the _Daily Prophet_."

Once again, the reporter with the venomous quill didn't look at all abashed, though Aurelia and Wyatt used the opportunity to get away. Aurelia sat between Wyatt and Cedric on the chairs provided, Fleur and Krum on one end each. Five of the six judges were seated at the velvet-covered table while Piper, Sirius and Remus sat slightly to the side. Skeeter settled in a corner, a parchment spread on her knee with her Quick-Quotes Quill placed on it.

"May I introduce Mr. Ollivander?" said Dumbledore, taking his place at the judges' table and talking to the Champions. "He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the tournament."

The man in question, an old wizard with large, pale eyes, was standing quietly by the window.

"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?" said Mr. Ollivander, stepping into the empty space in the middle of the room.

Fleur swept over to Mr. Ollivander and handed him her wand. Her wand was revealed to be 9 ½", inflexible, made of rosewood and containing a strand of hair from a Veela – her grandmother. Mr. Ollivander conjured a bouquet of flowers from her wand, putting them aside before handing the wand back to its owner and calling Cedric up next.

While examining the Hufflepuff's wand, the old wizard was much more enthusiastic as it was one of his own creations. It was 12 ¼", made of ash, pleasantly springy with a single tail hair from a male unicorn.

"You treat it regularly?" Mr. Ollivander asked, still examining the wand.

"Polished it last night," said Cedric, grinning.

Mr. Ollivander sent a stream of silver smoke rings across the room from the tip of Cedric's wand, pronounced himself satisfied, and then said, "Mr. Krum, if you please."

The Bulgarian Champion handed his wand over, a dark scowl on his face as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his robes.

Krum's wand was a Gregorivitch creation, made of hornbeam with a dragon heartstring core, rigid and 10 ¼". For the final test, the wand-maker let off a sound similar to a gun blast as a number of small, twittering birds flew out of the end and around the room before flying out through the open window into the watery sunlight, though one stayed behind and landed on Aurelia's shoulder, making no indication of moving.

Aurelia smiled at the small bird as Sirius, Remus and Albus shook their heads fondly, not at all surprised.

"Good," Mr. Ollivander said, handing Krum back his wand. "Which leaves . . . Miss. Potter-Black."

Aurelia got to her feet walked past Krum to Mr. Ollivander as she flicked her wrist and her wand slid into her hand from its arm-holster, the softly twittering bird still on her shoulder. She handed her gleaming wand to the elderly wizard.

"Aaaah, yes," said Mr. Ollivander, his pale eyes suddenly gleaming. "Yes, yes, yes. How well I remember."

Aurelia could remember too. She could remember it as though it had happened yesterday...

Four summers ago, on her eleventh birthday, she had entered Mr. Ollivander's shop with Sirius and Remus to purchase her own wand. Mr. Ollivander had taken her measurements and then started handing her wands to try. Aurelia had waved what felt like every wand in the shop, until at last she had found the one that suited her — this one, which was made of holly, 11" long, and contained a single feather from the tail of a phoenix. Mr. Ollivander had been very surprised that Aurelia had been so compatible with this wand. "Curious," he had said, "curious," and not until Sirius asked what was curious had Mr. Ollivander explained that the phoenix feather in Aurelia's wand had come from the same bird that had supplied the core of Lord Voldemort's.

The only other people who were aware of this information apart from herself, Sirius and Remus were Albus, Minerva, Severus, Ted and Andy Tonks and their daughter, Tonks. She was quite certain that Mr. Ollivander wasn't going to announce it to the room, and she had a funny feeling that Rita Skeeter's Quick-Quotes Quill might actually explode with excitement in the unlikely event that he did.

Mr. Ollivander spent much longer examining Aurelia's wand than anyone else's. Eventually, however, he made a fountain of wine shoot out of it, and handed it back to Aurelia, announcing that it was still in perfect condition. He also handed Aurelia the flowers he had conjured from Fleur's wand, earning him a radiant smile from the beautiful girl as she curtsied elegantly to him before returning to her seat.

"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander." Albus said to the old wand-maker, who nodded and sat in a chair by the window. He turned to the Champions as he asked, "Any questions?"

"I have one." Aurelia said, the twittering bird moving from her shoulder to her lap to examine the bouquet.

"Yes, Stella?"

"I know our wands are our best tools in these Tasks, but can we use other means of magic to help us? As in, if we have additional powers or abilities that may help, can we use them? Or aside from Wyatt, are the rest of us only supposed to use our wands?"

"What are you talking about girl?" Karkaroff sneered, earning him several glares from the Halliwell's, Sirius and Cedric. Remus was able to hold back his glare though he did have a distinctly cold look in his eyes.

"Basically, if, for example, I have to fly for whatever reason, can I use my wings?" she elaborated.

"Wings?" Karkaroff repeated incredulously, looking at her as if she was wasting their precious time. "What wings?"

"These wings." Aurelia replied sweetly, completely unaware of the tone the Durmstrang Headmaster was using, as she stood up, walked a few steps forward and let her wings unfurl behind her. Her bouquet and new avian friend with Wyatt.

"_Mon Dieu_." Fleur breathed in surprise, echoed by Madame Maxime.

Krum's eyes widened as he took in the sight and Karkaroff nearly fell off his chair. Bagman looked excited at the amazing sight while Leo and Piper had wide eyes, though there was a hint of amusement as they took in the reaction of the man that had all but dismissed the girl.

"Yes, Miss. Potter-Black. You may use your wings, along with any other abilities you have, the same way Mr. Halliwell will be." Mr. Crouch said with a stern, yet blank, expression. "The same goes for the remaining three Champions."

"Thank you." Cedric said politely.

The thanks was echoed by the other four Champions. Aurelia retracted her wings and sat back down, the bird back on her shoulder as she took the bouquet back from Wyatt.

"Well, if there are no more questions," Albus said as he stood up, pausing for a moment to see if anyone had any more questions before continuing, "You may go back to your lessons now - or perhaps it would be quicker just to go down to dinner, as they are about to end -"

Happy that they were finally done, and they were permitted to leave Aurelia stood up, the other Champions following suite,

When the black camera jumped up and cleared his throat.

"Photos, Dumbledore, photos!" cried Bagman excitedly. "All the judges and champions, what do you think, Rita?"

"Er — yes, let's do those first," said Rita Skeeter, whose eyes were upon Aurelia and Wyatt again. "And then perhaps some individual shots. Though if Miss. Potter-Black could remove her shades that would be good."

Aurelia groaned quietly as she gave her bouquet and shades to Sirius before letting herself get dragged to the center of the room to be posed for the photos. They did groups shots with the Champions and their Headmasters/ Headmistress – because Madame Maxime cast everyone into shadow regardless of where she stood and the photographer couldn't stand back far enough to encompass her entire frame, it was decided that the Headmasters/ Headmistress would sit with their Champions standing behind them (it had taken some maneuvering, but they were finally able to get the shots needed); then there were shots with the previous group and the rest of the judges; then with Piper, Sirius and Remus included; then Mr. Ollivander after Aurelia successfully wheedled him into agreeing (all she had to do was ask and look at him with her large unseeing emerald orbs and he agreed, not that she was aware that had been all that it took). Finally, they took shots of only the Champions – singles of the Champions; the two female Champions on their own; the three male Champions on their own; Aurelia with each of the Champions (The photographer seemed keenest to get Fleur to be the one with the greatest prominence, but Skeeter kept on Aurelia being the one with the central focus); and finally, all of the Champions together – Aurelia and Fleur were seated on chairs, with their ankles crossed and hands folded gently in their laps as they angled towards each other while the three males were standing in a semi-circle behind them, Krum behind Fleur Cedric in the middle and Wyatt behind Aurelia.

Finally, after what felt like an Age to each of the Champions (even Krum and Aurelia, the two who were the most accustomed to the photographs), they were allowed to leave. Aurelia wasted no time, she took her bag and bouquet before grabbing Wyatt's hands and all but running out of the classroom with Cedric holding Fleur and Krum's hands and following close rest of the room's occupants followed, albeit at a considerably more sedate pace.

The Champions didn't stop until they were three corridors away.

"I'm starting to see why you hate the fame." Wyatt said, only slightly winded from the run.

"Actually, this isn't the worst of it." Aurelia admitted, leaning against the wall. Like Wyatt, she wasn't all that winded; in fact, none of them were panting from the run.

"Yeah, you should've seen how they were when she officially became a student." Cedric said. "And her reaction to it."

"Vat happened?" Krum asked, looking between the two Hogwarts Champions curiously. Fleur and Wyatt were looking between the two with similar expressions.

"Well, to start with, Platform 9 ¾ was so crowded with people and reporters wanting to see her that the train ended up leaving an hour late. Actually, it was on both sides of the Platform, Muggle and Magical alike because of her fame in both worlds." Cedric started as they began walking towards the Great Hall for dinner, though at a more leisure pace.

"Then, on the train, Ron and I were constantly hounded by students wanting to see me. I got so annoyed that I kind of-accidentally-on-purpose sealed all the cabin doors shut." Aurelia continued sheepishly.

"You deedn't!" Fleur exclaimed with wide eyes.

"She/ I did." Cedric and Aurelia said in unison.

For a single heartbeat, they stared at one another, before bursting out with laughter. The peals echoed through the corridors, reaching the small group of judges and media representatives that were a few corridors behind them.

"It seems that the Champions are getting along well." Piper commented, walking beside her husband, her arm looped through his.

Karkaroff sniffed in disdain at the comment as he walked beside Albus.

"Come now, Igor. This Tournament is all about International Magical Cooperation." Bagman said cheerfully,

Madam Maxime was quiet, though she could hear Fleur's laughter echo through the peals that reached them. She gave a small smile as she thought about hearing the girl's laughter for the first time in far too long. Fleur had always been apart from her peers due to her Veela blood. The other girls were often jealous of something Fleur had no control of, and the impressive woman had a feeling that Aurelia would be able to help her star pupil shine in her own right.

"I think it's a good thing for them to get to know one another as peers, rather than as competitors." Remus said in his ever calm and practical manner. "After all, like Wyatt had told Aurelia, just because they're competing with one another, there's no reason they can't be friends."

"So true." Sirius said happily, throwing an arm over the werewolf's shoulder as they walked. "And knowing Aurelia, she probably already found something in common with Miss. Delacour and Mr. Krum, just like she has something in common with Wyatt."

"And what does Potter-Black have in common with Halliwell?" Karkaroff asked, his voice dripping with disdain.

His tone had Piper bristling with anger, held back only by Leo's arm. Her hands twitched as she itched to blow the man up.

"You're kidding me, right?" Sirius asked, staring at him in disbelief.

"Wyatt is the King of all Magic, Aurelia is a Star, as well as the Girl-Who-Lived and an internationally acclaimed singer and figure skater, among others." Remus explained, effectively keeping Sirius from insulting the man, no matter how much he deserved it. "They both carry heavy burdens on their shoulders."

Karkaroff sniffed and fell silent. By that point, they had reached the five Champions, who were slowly picking themselves off the ground as their laughter slowed to chuckles.

"Grandpa!" Aurelia cried out happily as she took Wyatt's outstretched hand and pulled herself up.

"What had all of you laughing?" Albus asked, his blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles as he smiled at the five students.

"We were recounting the train fiasco in Aurelia's first year." Cedric replied, a wide smile on his face as Fleur took his outstretched hand and pulled herself up.

"Oh I remember that." Sirius said with a smile. "Though I still can't believe you actually managed to seal all the cabins shut."

"It was an accident!" Aurelia exclaimed as the now large group began walking towards the Great Hall.

"Accidently-on-purpose." Sirius and Remus corrected in unison.

Aurelia stuck her tongue out at them in response as the group laughed, except for Karkaroff and Crouch. The photographer was rapidly taking photos of the Champions, taking advantage of the moment to seize some good images of the group without their apparent awareness to the camera – he had no idea that they were well aware that he was taking photos.

"Hey, Dad, can I go swimming?" Aurelia asked a few minutes later.

"You went this morning." Sirius replied, looking at her as she turned around to face him, walking backwards.

"That was training. I'm asking to go swimming for fun."

"Swimming for fun this late at night? I don't think so." Sirius replied. "We'll see tomorrow. If the weather is good, you can swim the Lake, otherwise you can swim in the Room."

"And if someone can be with you, regardless of where you're going to be. You are not going anywhere alone." Remus added sternly.

"Okay." Aurelia chirped.

She wasn't surprised by the order to not go anywhere alone, if anything, she was slightly surprised that was all it was. She suspected that it not only had Grandpa's hand, but his whole arm involved, with the decision.

As they walk, Aurelia and Wyatt played with the bird that was flying ahead of them. Wyatt created small orbs of light using his photokinesis and made them float at different heights for the bird to chase as Aurelia withdrew her birth-father's Golden Snitch and let it fly around for the bird to chase.

"Grandpa, where's Fawkes?" she asked after a few minutes.

"He's in my office." Albus replied. "Why?"

"I was wondering if he would like to play with Electra." She replied, Electra being the name she had given the bird.

Before Albus could reply, there was a flash of fire in front of them as Fawkes appeared, chirping happily as he immediately joined the smaller bird in its game.

"It would seem that he would love to play." Albus said, holding back his laughter.

Sirius, Remus, and the five Champions did not have the same control as they burst out laughing. Piper, Leo, and Bagman joined in the laughter while the rest either gave small smiles or looks of disdain (Karkaroff). The laughter died as they reached the Great Hall and separated, the students going to the different House Tables while the rest went up to the Staff Table, the visitors going to be staying for dinner before leaving.

For Wyatt and Aurelia at the Gryffindor table, dinner was a quick affair as they had to return to the dungeons to complete their Potions assignment as they had been reminded by Severus as soon as they sat down.

However, before they left for the dungeons, they were able to enjoy their meal with Ron, Hermione and Chris, the rest having already finished their meal and left the Hall before they arrived.

"Hey, were you able to find any leads in the library that day?" Wyatt asked after he had swallowed a mouthful of potatoes. At her questioning look, he elaborated, "That day after the Selections when you ran out of the Hall?"

"Oh. No, they didn't pan out." Hermione replied with a slight pout at the knowledge that her beloved books didn't have anything that could help her best friend survive the Tournament.

"Hey, it's okay, Mione." Aurelia said gently. "We were told today that we could use whatever powers and abilities we have at our disposal, not only our wands. So, maybe it'll be enough for me to survive."

"Maybe." Hermione said, her shoulders slumped slightly. "It doesn't make me feel any more comfortable with this."

"Well, you're not the only one who feels that way." Aurelia told her. "Uncle Remus and Dad just informed me that I am not allowed to go anywhere on my own."

"I'm surprised that was all it was." Ron admitted around a mouthful of food. Hermione grimaced and reached over to close his mouth so they didn't see the chewed food. He gave them an apologetic look as he swallowed the bite and continued, "Normally they would be following you and escorting you everywhere, like Second Year and last year,"

"I know." Aurelia admitted as she and Wyatt cleared their plates. "I suspect it not only had Grandpa's hand, but his entire arm involved in the reduced protectiveness. Aunt Minnie's too."

"If they're anything like my parents, I have no doubt." Wyatt said as he and Aurelia stood up. "We have to get to the dungeons. We've got to complete our Potions assignment."

With a final wave, the two Champions turned friends headed out of the Hall and made their way into the dungeons to finish their Potions assignment, talking softly to one another.


End file.
